Grammar is all you need LinguaTrip

The Best
Grammar Workbook
Ever!
Other books by Arlene Miller:
The Best Little Grammar Book Ever: 101 Ways to Impress with Your Writing and Speaking
Correct Me If I’m Wrong: Getting Your Grammar, Punctuation, and Word Usage Right
The Great Grammar Cheat Sheet:
50 Grammar, Punctuation, Writing, and Word Usage Tips You Can Use Now (ebook)
www.bigwords101.com
The Best
Grammar Workbook
Ever!
Grammar, Punctuation, and Word Usage
for Ages 10 Through 110
Arlene Miller
The Grammar Diva™
bigwords101
Petaluma, California
The Best Grammar Workbook Ever!
Grammar, Punctuation, and Word Usage for Ages 10 Through 110
Copyright © 2015 by Arlene Miller
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the copyright holder.
Cover design by Matt Hinrichs
Interior formatting by Marny K. Parkin
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Miller, Arlene.
The Best Grammar Workbook Ever! Grammar, Punctuation, and Word Usage for Ages 10
Through 110. First Edition, 2015
p. cm.
Includes appendixes and index
ISBN 978-0-9911674-0-1
1. English language—Grammar. 2. English language—Usage. 3. English language—Grammar—
Self-instruction
Library of Congress: PE 1106.M550 2015
Dewey: 428.2
Published by bigwords101, P.O. Box 4483, Petaluma, CA 94955 USA
website and blog: www.bigwords101.com
Contact Ingram or the publisher for quantity discounts for your company, organization,
or educational institution.
To Jake and Shelley,
my two magna opera
Contents
Practices and Tests
xvii
Acknowledgmentsxxi
Introduction1
How to Use This Book
3
Conventions Used in This Book
4
Pretest5
Chapter 1: The Parts of Speech
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Nouns
13
13
The Five Types of Nouns
1.3. Pronouns
14
Antecedents
14
Types of Pronouns
1.4. Verbs
15
18
Action Verbs
18
Linking Verbs
18
Tenses
19
Irregular Verb Forms
Voice
14
20
20
Transitive/Intransitive
1.5. Adjectives
21
21
Other Types of Adjectives
1.6. Adverbs
22
1.7. Prepositions
1.8. Conjunctions
21
23
24
Subordinating Conjunctions
24
13
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1 Best Grammar Workbook Ever
1.9. Interjections
25
1.10. Using the Parts of Speech
25
Chapter 1 Test 26
Chapter 2: Sentences
27
2.1. Introduction: What Is a Sentence?
2.2. Subjects
27
Complete Subjects
2.3. Predicates
2.4. Objects
27
28
28
28
Direct Objects
28
Indirect Objects
29
Objects of a Preposition
2.5. Predicate Words
29
30
2.6. The Four Kinds of Sentences
Declarative Sentence
31
Interrogative Sentence
31
Imperative Sentence
31
31
Exclamatory Sentence
31
Chapter 2 Test 32
Chapter 3: Phrases
33
3.1. Introduction: What Is a Phrase?
3.2. Prepositional Phrases
3.3. Infinitive Phrases
33
Present Participles
34
3.4. Participial Phrases
Past Participles
33
33
34
35
3.5. Gerundial Phrases
35
3.6. A Few Words About Appositives
36
Chapter 3 Test 37
Chapter 4: Clauses
39
4.1. Introduction: What Is a Clause?
4.2. Independent Clauses
39
39
Contents
4.3. Subordinate (Dependent) Clauses
Adjective Clauses
39
40
Adverb Clauses
41
Noun Clauses
42
Chapter 4 Test 43
Chapter 5: Types of Sentence Structures
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Not a Sentence
45
45
Sentence Fragment
45
Run-on Sentences
46
5.3. Types of Sentence Structures
Simple Sentence
45
47
47
Compound Sentence
Complex Sentence
47
47
Compound-Complex Sentence
48
5.4. A Variety of Sentence Patterns
49
Chapter 5 Test 50
Chapter 6: Special Issues with Pronouns
6.1. Introduction
51
6.2. Personal Pronoun Problem: Cases—Is It I or Me?
51
51
6.3. Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives: This, That, These,
Those 52
6.4. Reflexive Pronouns:
Using the -self Words Correctly
6.5. Interrogative Pronoun Issues
Whose or Who’s?
53
54
54
6.6. Relative Pronouns: Using Who, Which, and That Correctly
6.7. Indefinite Pronouns: Singular or Plural?
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
56
56
57
Indefinite Pronouns That Can Be Either Singular or Plural 57
6.8. Unclear Antecedents
Chapter 6 Test 59
58
55
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Best Grammar Workbook Ever
Chapter 7: Special Issues with Verbs
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Tense
61
61
61
Tense Trouble 62
Using the Past Perfect
62
7.3. Irregular Verb Forms
62
7.4. Verbs of Being
64
Adjectives After Linking Verbs
65
Pronouns After Linking Verbs
65
7.5. Voice: Active or Passive?
65
7.6. What Is Subjunctive Mood, Anyway?
Commands and Recommendations
Things That Are Not True
7.7. Using Strong Verbs
66
66
66
66
Chapter 7 Test 68
Chapter 8: Commas: Yup! A Whole Chapter
8.1. To Comma or Not To Comma: That Is the Question
8.2. Series Comma (Oxford Comma)
8.3. Compound Sentences
69
8.5. Introductory Elements
70
8.4. Between Two Adjectives
69
70
Introductory Words and Transition Words
Introductory Phrases
71
Introductory Clauses
71
8.6. Interrupting Material
Commas Needed
71
71
No Commas Needed
71
8.7. Other Common Uses for Commas
etc., i.e., e.g.
Dates
72
72
Commas with Numbers
With Too
72
Direct Address
72
73
Setting off Academic Degrees
Addresses
73
Company Names
73
73
72
70
69
69
Contents
Contrasting Expressions and Elements
When a Word Is Left Out
Commas for Emphasis
Letters and Emails
73
73
73
73
Unusual Word Order in a Sentence
74
74
Setting off However and Therefore
Anyplace Where Not Using a Comma Would Be Confusing
8.8. Don’t Put Commas Here!
74
74
Chapter 8 Test 76
Chapter 9: Punctuation (Except Commas)
9.1. Introduction
77
Abbreviations
77
9.2. Periods (.)
Decimals
77
78
Lists or Outlines
Measurements
78
78
9.3. Question Marks (?)
78
9.4. Exclamation Points (!)
9.5. Semicolons (;)
79
Compound Sentences
78
79
Compound Sentences with Series or Other Commas
Confusing Series
80
9.6. Colons (:) 80
Digital Time
80
Salutation of a Business Letter
80
Between the Title and Subtitle of a Book
In a Compound Sentence
Introducing a Quote
Introducing Lists
80
80
80
9.7. Parentheses ( ) and Brackets [ ]
Brackets
81
82
Parentheses
82
9.8. Hyphens and Dashes (-/–/—)
Hyphen (-) 82
En Dash (–)
83
Em Dash (—)
83
82
80
79
77
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1 Best Grammar Workbook Ever
9.9. Italics
84
Words Used as Themselves
84
Letters and Numbers Used as Themselves
Foreign Terms and Phrases
Titles? Italics or Quotes?
Other Uses for Quotes
84
84
84
85
9.10. Quotation Marks ( “ ” ) 85
Dialogue
85
Other Uses for Quotation Marks
85
Quotation Marks with Other Punctuation
Single Quotation Marks
86
86
9.11. Ellipses ( . . . ) 87
Chapter 9 Test 88
Chapter 10: Capitalization
10.1. Introduction
89
10.2. The Basic Rules
89
10.3. More Capitalization Rules
Titles
89
90
90
Directions
91
Letter/Email Salutations and Closings
Earth
91
91
Seasons
91
Some “Common” Proper Nouns
91
President of the United States and Other Titles
Departments
92
School Courses
Decades
91
92
92
Dog Breeds/Names
92
Words That Come Before Numbers
Hyphenated Words
92
92
Chapter 10 Test 94
Chapter 11: Some Really Important
Grammar Issues
11.1. Introduction
95
95
Contents
11.2. Run-on Sentences (and Fragments)
Run-on Sentences
Fragments
95
95
95
11.3. Agreement
96
Interrupting Words and Phrases with Subject/Verb Agreement 96
Using and, or, neither, either Between Subjects
Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement
Sentences That Begin with There
Indefinite Pronouns
98
99
99
A Quirky Little Issue
11.4. Comparison
97
98
Singular Nouns That Look Plural
Collective Nouns
99
100
Forming Comparatives and Superlatives
100
What If It Isn’t More? What If It Is Less?
100
Irregular Forms
101
Faulty Comparisons
101
11.5. Misplaced Modifiers
11.6. Possessives
102
Singular Nouns
101
102
Plural Nouns 102
Words That Already End in -s
Last Names
103
Exceptions
103
Possessive Pronouns
103
11.7. Parallel Structure
104
Parallel Structure in Lists
103
104
11.8. Using Numbers: When to Spell Them Out
11.9. Double Negatives
106
11.10. Apostrophes in Plurals
107
11.11. Let’s Be Clear: Avoiding Vagueness
This and It
108
The Lonely Which
Unclear People
108
108
108
11.12. Can I Do These Things?
Use Abbreviations
109
Use Contractions
109
Use Slang
97
109
109
Start a Sentence with And, So, or But
109
105
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End a Sentence with a Preposition
110
Split an Infinitive 110
Use They as a Singular
110
Chapter 11 Test 111
Chapter 12: Commonly Confused Words/
A Dictionary of Usage
12.1. A Through D
12.2. E Through H
12.3. I Through L
12.4. M Through P
12.5. R and S 122
12.6. T Through Z
113
113
117
119
121
124
Chapter 12 Test 126
Final Test
129
Part 1—English Language Basics
Part 2—Sentence Correction
130
129
Appendix A: Redundancy
135
Appendix B: Commonly Misspelled Words
137
A through E
F through P
Q through W
137
138
139
Appendix C: Commonly Mispronounced Words 141
Appendix D: Common Prefixes, Suffixes,
and Word Roots
143
Appendix E: Writing Tips
147
Appendix F: Glossary
149
Contents
Appendix G: Answers to Practices and
Chapter Tests
Pretest
153
153
Chapter 1
154
Chapter 3
159
Chapter 5
161
Chapter 7
164
Chapter 9
167
Chapter 2
157
Chapter 4 160
Chapter 6 163
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
166
170
Chapter 11
171
Final Test
178
Chapter 12
175
Index181
2
xv
Practices and Tests
Pretest
5
Practice 1—Recognizing Nouns
13
Practice 2—Recognizing Types of Nouns
14
Practice 3—Pronouns and Antecedents
15
Practice 4—Personal Pronouns
15
Practice 5—Demonstrative Pronouns
15
Practice 6—Interrogative Pronouns
15
Practice 7—Relative Pronouns
16
Practice 8—Intensive/Reflexive Pronouns
Practice 9—Indefinite Pronouns
Practice 10—Pronoun Review
Brain Challenge
16
17
17
17
Practice 11—Action Verbs
18
Practice 12—Linking Verbs
18
Practice 13—Action and Linking Verbs
Practice 14—Verb Tenses
19
20
Practice 15—Regular Verbs
20
Practice 16—Active and Passive Voice
20
Practice 17—Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Practice 18—Identifying Adjectives
Practice 19—Identifying Adverbs
Practice 20—Placing Adverbs
21
22
22
23
Practice 21—Identifying Prepositional Phrases
Practice 22—Coordinating Conjunctions
23
24
Practice 23—Identifying Subordinating Conjunctions
Practice 24—Adding Interjections
Brain Challenges
25
25
Chapter 1 Test 26
Practice 25—Identifying Subjects
Practice 26—Identifying Verbs
27
28
24
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Best Grammar Workbook Ever
Practice 27—Dividing the Sentence into Subject and Predicate 28
Practice 28—Identifying Direct Objects
29
Practice 29—Identifying Indirect Objects
29
Practice 30—Identifying Objects of Prepositions 30
Practice 31—Identifying Predicate Adjectives and Predicate Nominatives
Practice 32—Identifying the Types of Sentences
31
Practice 33—Identifying Prepositional Phrases
33
Chapter 2 Test 32
Practice 34—Find the Infinitive or Infinitive Phrase
34
Practice 35—Identifying Infinitives as Subjects or Objects
Practice 36—Identifying Participles
Practice 37—Find the Gerund
34
35
35
Practice 38—Gerund or Participle?
36
Practice 39—Find the Appositives
36
Chapter 3 Test 37
Practice 40—Identifying Independent Clauses
Practice 41—Subordinate Clauses
39
40
Practice 42—Identifying Adjective Clauses
Practice 43—Identifying Adverb Clauses
Chapter 4 Test 43
41
42
Practice 44—Identifying and Rewriting Sentence Fragments 46
Practice 45—Identifying and Correcting Run Ons
Practice 46—Simple and Compound Sentences
Practice 47—Complex Sentences
46
47
48
Practice 48—Identifying Sentence Structures
48
Practice 49—Writing Sentences with Different Structures
Chapter 5 Test 50
Practice 50—Using the Correct Pronoun Case
52
Practice 51—Using Demonstratives Correctly
53
Practice 52—Using -self Pronouns
54
Practice 53—Who and Whom as Interrogative Pronouns
Practice 54—Whose and Who’s
49
55
Practice 55—Essential Versus Nonessential Clauses 56
Practice 56—Singular Indefinite Pronouns
57
54
30
Practices and Tests 2
Practice 57—Indefinite Pronouns
58
Chapter 6 Test 59
Practice 58—Tenses
61
Practice 59—Using Correct Tenses
62
Practice 60—Irregular Verb Forms
64
Practice 61—Active and Passive Voice
65
Practice 62—Using Subjunctive Mood
66
Chapter 7 Test 68
Practice 63—Some Important Comma Rules
70
Practice 64—Commas for Introductory and Interrupting Elements 72
Practice 65—More Comma Rules
74
Chapter 8 Test 76
Practice 66—Using Periods
78
Practice 67—Question Marks
78
Practice 68—Exclamation Points
79
Practice 69—Semicolons and Colons
81
Practice 70—Parentheses and Brackets
Practice 71—Hyphens and Dashes
Practice 72—Italics
82
83
85
Practice 73—Italics Versus Quotation Marks
Practice 74—Quotation Marks
Chapter 9 Test 88
86
Practice 75—Basic Capitalization Rules
Practice 76—More Capitalization
Chapter 10 Test 94
92
Practice 77—Run Ons and Fragments
Practice 78—Agreement
97
Practice 79—More Agreement
97
Practice 80—More Agreement
98
Practice 81—More Agreement
99
Practice 82—Comparison
101
Practice 83—Misplaced Modifiers
Practice 84—Possessives
104
90
102
96
85
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Best Grammar Workbook Ever
Practice 85—Parallel Structure
Practice 86—Numbers
104
106
Practice 87—Double Negatives
107
Practice 88—Plurals with Apostrophes
Practice 89—Clarity
108
108
Practice 90—Can I Do These Things?
Chapter 11 Test 111
110
Practice 91—Confusing Words A Through D
116
Practice 92—Confusing Words E Through H
118
Practice 93—Confusing Words I Through L
120
Practice 94—Confusing Words M Through P
122
Practice 95—Confusing Words R and S
124
Practice 96—Confusing Words T through Z
Chapter 12 Test 126
125
Final Test 129
Answers to Practices and Chapter Tests 153
Index
181
Acknowledgments
M
y sincere thank you . . .
Dr. Susan Behrens: My beta reader and favorite linguist,
who contributed her wise and spot-on comments in a
more timely manner than I was able to write the book.
My friends: Frances Caballo, Bobbi and Dave Noderer,
Edie and Jim Partridge, Jeannie Thomas, Norma Sadow,
and Bart Scott for always believing in me (and providing chocolate bread).
John DeGaetano: My business coach, for lighting the
fire under me to make me finish the manuscript.
Michael Powell: My librarian friend, for his knowledge
of copyright pages!
Matt Hinrichs (cover) and Marny K. Parkin (interior):
Without their design there would be no book.
Publicity People: Gil Namur, who keeps the website
running; Timothy Nonn, who gave me my first piece of
newspaper publicity five years ago; The Petaluma Argus
Courier.
Copperfield’s Books: The indie bookstore that has been
so kind to me always—a shout out to Grace Bogart, Ray
Lawrason, and Vicki DeArmon.
Susan Damon: For piloting this book with her adult literacy classes.
Jeane Slone and Mona Mechling: Local book distributors, for keeping my books selling.
My “Blurbers”: Jeff Deck, half of the Typo Hunting Team;
Sharon Hamilton, bestselling author; Pete Masterson,
book designer and book sage; John Bribiescus, retired
English teacher and tireless fundraiser and volunteer for
education; Peter Bowerman, Well-Fed Author and SelfPublisher; Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker, M.S., Speech
and Communication Consultant; and David Freeman,
Author of Mushroom Tales.
My colleagues: At Petaluma City Schools, Redwood Writers, and Bay Area Independent Publishing
Association.
Dan Poynter for his groundbreaking book on independent publishing and for always including my blog posts
in his newsletters.
Starbucks for providing caffeine and a comfortable
place to sit and write.
My new family, the Bindons, and my amazing and talented new son-in-law, Josh.
Shelley and Jake, without whom I would be nothing.
Introduction
T
his is my fourth grammar book and my first workbook. Although language does evolve and “rules”
may change, grammar is not going away. It is alive and
well. Proper grammar, punctuation, and capitalization
conventions make our writing—and speaking—clearer
and easier to read.
Good, clear writing is even more important now: the
Internet is forever, and once you put something up
there and everyone sees it, you can’t take it back. And
if you think your employer or college admissions office
won’t notice your mistakes, think again. Grammar is
still a way for others to judge our competence, attention
to detail, education, and intelligence. Dress for success.
Speak for success. Write for success.
My first book, The Best Little Grammar Book Ever: 101
Ways to Impress With Your Writing and Speaking, is
a small guide to avoiding the most common errors in
grammar and punctuation. It also includes an introduction to the basics of grammar and sentence structure.
Each chapter contains a quiz at the beginning. Also
included are lists of the most commonly misspelled
and mispronounced words, a writing lesson, a grammar glossary, and a complete index.
My second book, Correct Me If I’m Wrong: Getting Your
Grammar, Punctuation, and Word Usage Right, is also
a small guide to avoiding common grammar, punctuation, and word usage errors. It presents all the issues in
alphabetical order and includes more word usage and
comma rules than the first book. Omitted are the quizzes and glossary.
I also have produced a small e-book, The Great Grammar Cheat Sheet: 50 Grammar, Punctuation, Writing,
and Word Usage Tips You Can Use Now, for writers who
might be in a hurry—who want a no-frills explanation
and perhaps a shortcut to their questions.
I have wanted to write a workbook for some time, and
I am happy to present it to you now. I have included
all the information—and more—that is in both of my
previous books, updated and presented in easy-to-read
language, logical order, and friendly format, with plenty
of examples and exercises. There is a Pretest at the
beginning of the book and chapter tests at the conclusion of each chapter. Inside each chapter are numerous
“practices,” or exercises, so you can practice the information you are reading. To see what you have learned,
there is also a Final Test. Of course, all the answers are
included in the final appendix!
The most frequent comment I get about my books is
that in addition to providing helpful information, they
are friendly and easy to read. I hope you find that
describes this workbook as well.
The Best Grammar Workbook Ever contains everything
you need to become a better and more confident writer
and speaker. It concentrates on the most common
grammar issues and provides all the basic information
about grammar that you will need to understand the
more advanced topics.
Enjoy!
Arlene Miller, “The Grammar Diva”
How to Use This Book
T
his workbook begins with basic grammar and builds
up to more complex ideas and grammatical issues.
You will probably want to begin by taking the Pretest to
check your current knowledge level. Then, you might
want to begin at the beginning and work through the
book in order. However, you may find it more helpful to
skip to the areas with which you have the most trouble.
I will leave that up to you!
This book begins with a Pretest and ends with a Final
Test. Each chapter contains exercises, or “practices,”
and ends with a Chapter Test. All answers are in the
final appendix, before the index.
Please note that all conventions in this book reflect
American English, rather than British English. And
there are differences. For example, rules about quotation marks with other punctuation are the opposite in
American versus British English style.
Here is a more specific overview of the contents.
Chapter 1 begins with the parts of speech, the building
blocks of writing, breaking grammar down into single
words and their uses in sentences.
Chapter 2 talks about the elements of a sentence and
the basic types of sentences.
Chapter 3 introduces phrases: small groups of words
that make your sentences more interesting and varied.
Chapter 4 continues with longer groups of words, clauses.
Chapter 5 discusses complete sentences (and what are
not sentences) as well as a variety of different sentence
patterns using the phrases and clauses you learned
about in Chapters 3 and 4.
Chapter 6 begins talking about some common problems
with grammar, concentrating on pronoun problems.
Chapter 7 reviews verbs and some of the specific issues
connected with verbs.
Chapter 8 is devoted to commas. There are so many
comma rules that commas deserve a chapter of their
own!
Chapter 9 talks about the other punctuation marks.
Chapter 10 reviews capitalization conventions.
Chapter 11 discusses some really important grammar
issues including agreement, parallel structure, comparison, possessives, using numbers, and plurals.
Chapter 12 contains a Dictionary of Usage, explaining
the word pairs and groups that often get confused: lay
and lie, capital and capitol, imply and infer, and many,
many others.
Throughout each chapter, there are a number of practice exercises; there is a chapter test at the end of each
chapter. Then there is a final test. All answers are in
Appendix G.
Appendix A includes a list of common redundancies
that we often use in our writing and speaking.
Appendix B contains a list of commonly misspelled
words.
Appendix C contains a list of commonly mispronounced words.
Appendix D contains a list of common prefixes, suffixes,
and word roots to help improve vocabulary and help
you figure out the meaning of a word by looking at parts
you might recognize.
Appendix E contains writing tips.
Appendix F is a glossary of grammar terms.
Appendix G includes all the practice and test answers.
There is a complete index at the end of the workbook.
If you have any comments on this book, or if you have
a question about something that is not included here
4
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Best Grammar Workbook Ever
(and you think it should be), please contact me. I can be
reached at [email protected].
Visit my website at www.bigwords101.com and subscribe to my weekly blog post!
Conventions Used in This Book
1. I have tried to make the format as simple as possible. I have used a different typeface for examples, and bold italics for words that are used as
themselves.
2. ✎ indicates a special note you should read.
3. I have used a conversational tone in this book to
make it easy to read. In some cases you might
notice I have done something I have told you to
avoid—using a sentence fragment or beginning a
sentence with a conjunction—in order to keep a
casual tone and get my point across. I would not
do these things in more formal writing.
Pretest
Answer these questions before you go through the book to see what you know.
1. Which of these is not considered a part of speech?
a. adjective b. subject c. preposition d. noun
2. Which of these is a conjunction?
a. is b. anyone c. and d. of
3. Which of these is a verb?
a. it b. in c. is d. if
4. Which of these is an interjection?
a. ouch b. whom c. it d. because
5. Every sentence needs a subject and a(n) _________
a. object b. noun c. verb d. period
6. I gave my brother a hug. The subject of this sentence is
a. I b. gave c. brother d. hug
7. Simple predicate is the same as
a. subject b. verb c. phrase d. clause
8. Which of the following is a proper noun?
a. he b. Jack c. I d. school
9. Give the book to Steve. The direct object of this sentence is
a. Steve b. book c. give d. there is none
10. Give the book to Steve. What type of sentence is this?
a. interrogative b. declarative c. exclamatory d. imperative
11. Which of these is a prepositional phrase?
a. into the house b. Wow! c. locking the door d. He went
12. Which of these phrases contains a participle?
a. to be a farmer b. singing loudly c. up the stairs d. a dark-haired boy
13. Which sentence has a participle that makes sense?
a. Driving down the road, my car broke down.
b. Reading a book by the window, my cat fell asleep.
c. He read from his book wearing glasses.
d. Running down the street, the dog wouldn’t come back.
14. Which one contains an infinitive?
a. to go to the store b. running down the street c. my neighbor d. to the bank
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Best Grammar Workbook Ever
15. A clause is a group of words with
a. a phrase b. two verbs c. a sentence d. a subject and a verb
16. An independent clause is the same as
a. a sentence b. a phrase c. a subject d. an infinitive
17. Which of the following is a clause?
a. because I can’t talk on the phone
b. running down the street
c. Jack and Jill
d. going to the movies
18. Which of these is a complete and correct sentence?
a. Because I can’t go with you.
b. Going to the movies.
c. She ran.
d. She ran, he walked.
19. Which one of these is a run-on sentence?
a. I told you so.
b. She ran; he walked.
c. I didn’t go, he did.
d. Give me the book, and then go to bed.
20. Which of these is a compound sentence?
a. Jack and Jill went up the hill.
b. Jack went up the hill and then fell down.
c. Jack went up the hill, and Jill fell down.
d. Jill climbed and climbed up the hill.
21. Paul and (me, I, myself ) cooked dinner tonight.
22. Give the tickets to my sister and (me, I, myself ).
23. (Him and I, He and I, Me and him, He and myself ) loved that movie!
24. With (who, whom) are you going?
25. (Who, Whom) are you?
26. (Who, Whom) did you invite to the party?
27 . I know (who, whom) you went with.
28. I love (this, these) kind of apples.
29. Anyone on the boys’ basketball team can buy (his, their) uniform here.
30. Either Mary or Jane (is, are) coming with us.
31. Neither one of them (is, are) here.
32. Somebody is studying (his, his or her, their) math in the library.
33. Either the dogs or the cat (is, are) making a mess.
Pretest
34. Which sentence is written clearly?
a. Bev waved at Carol as she was walking down the street.
b. As she was walking down the street, Carol waved at Bev.
c. As Bev was walking down the street, she waved at Carol.
d. As she was walking down the street, she waved at Bev.
35. Which sentence is written in passive voice?
a. He stopped when he reached the corner.
b. Did you put the groceries away?
c. This dress was made for me!
d. I got all the way home before I realized I had lost my keys.
36. Which sentence has a verb in present perfect tense?
a. I will tell you a story later.
b. I had pizza for dinner yesterday.
c. I went to the movies yesterday.
d. I have gone to the movies three times this week.
37. Which sentence is written using correct verb tenses?
a. I have run last night.
b. I had run five miles before I fell.
c. I go to the movies last night, and I see my friends.
d. She failed the test five times before she finally passed.
38. Which sentence is written correctly?
a. I did good on the test.
b. She looked bad in that dress.
c. The band played loud.
d. The steak tasted really badly.
39. Which sentence is not correct?
a. I have went to Alaska before.
b. I have swum in two different oceans.
c. I have drunk all the milk.
d. I saw a rainbow this morning.
40. Which sentence is using subjunctive mood?
a. I dreamed I was a whale.
b. If I were rich, I would be really happy.
c. I wish I was smarter.
d. They were really happy to see me.
41. Which sentence is not correct?
a. The bell rung three times.
b. I had rung the bell three times.
c. She shrank my dress in the dryer.
d. She has fallen into the snow.
42. Add commas in the correct places in this sentence. There are two commas:
Mary who had three dogs was a real animal lover.
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43. Add commas in the correct places in this sentence if any are needed.
The book that has the old torn cover belongs to me.
44. Which sentence is not punctuated correctly?
a. I am going to college next year, my sister is too.
b. I am going to college next year; my sister is too.
c. John, Mary and I have finished the exam.
d. John, Mary, and I have finished the exam.
45. Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
a. She said, “I can’t go with you”.
b. Did she say “I can’t go with you?”
c. Did she ask, “Can I go with you”?
d. Did she say that she can’t go with you?
46. Italics are used for (choose only one):
a. The titles of songs.
b. The titles of books.
c. The titles of newspaper articles.
d. None of the above.
47. Colons are used for (choose only one):
a. Introducing a list.
b. In the greeting of a business letter.
c. Introducing a long quotation.
d. All of the above.
48. What is the difference between a hyphen and a dash? (choose one)
a. There is no difference.
b. Hyphens are used to indicate a break in thought in a sentence.
c. Hyphens are used in some compound words; dashes are not.
d. Dashes are used in indexes.
49. Insert two dashes (—) into the following sentence in the correct places.
My cat I don’t know how she got there was living in the neighbor’s garage.
50. Brackets [] are used for (choose one):
a. Parentheses inside of other parentheses.
b. Added information to explain a quote.
c. Neither of these.
d. Both of these.
51. Correctly capitalize the following sentence:
I work at the first national bank in boston.
52. Correctly capitalize the following sentence:
out of all the seasons, summer is my favorite.
53. Correctly capitalize the following sentence:
I said, “don’t go without me.”
54. Correctly capitalize the following sentence:
“take this book,” he said, “and return it to the library.”
Pretest
55. Correctly capitalize the following sentence:
The title of the movie is once upon a time in rome.
56. Correctly capitalize the greeting of this letter:
dear mr. and mrs. foster:
57. Correctly capitalize the closing of this letter:
yours truly,
john jones, jr.
58. Which sentence is written correctly?
a. Both Jim and Pete is going.
b. Jim, along with his friends, are going.
c. Neither Jim nor Pete is going.
d. None of them is correct.
59. Which sentence is written correctly?
a. Neither the boy nor the girl are going.
b. Neither the boy nor the girls are going.
c. Neither the boys nor the girl are going.
d. They are all correct.
60. Ted is the (taller, tallest) of the twins.
61. She is the (less, least) friendly girl in the class.
62. Which sentence is correct?
a. She likes pizza more than me.
b. She likes pizza more than I.
c. They are both correct.
d. Neither is correct.
63. Which sentence is correct?
a. Freshly painted, my car looked great when I picked it up today.
b. Freshly painted, I picked my car up from the shop today.
c. Freshly painted, the shop gave me a great deal on the car.
d. They are all incorrect.
64. Which sentence is correctly written?
a. I read about the earthworm in the science book.
b. I heard about the hurricane on the news.
c. I saw the tornado on the news.
d. None of the sentences is written well.
65. This is my (sisters, sisters’, sister’s, sister’s’) pair of shoes.
66. I think this is (James’, James’s, James, James’s’) house.
67. The bicycle belongs to my (sister’s, sisters’, sisters, sisters’s).
68. Write the following sentence correctly:
I like to swim, to fish, and lying in the sun.
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69. Fix the punctuation in this sentence:
Mrs. Apple, the president of the company; Mr. Jones, the vice-president; Mr. Green; Ms. Young, Mr. Fox; and I
are going to the meeting.
70. In which sentence are the numbers written correctly?
a. 5 boys were in the class.
b. Five boys and 3 girls were in the class.
c. Five boys and three girls were in the class.
d. 5 boys and 15 girls were in the class.
71. Which sentence is correct?
a. I was born on July 1, 1999.
b. I was born in July, 1999.
c. I was born July, 1, 1999.
d. None of them is correct.
72. Which sentence is correct?
a. I can’t hardly hear the music.
b. I can’t barely do this math problem.
c. I can barely finish this piece of cake.
d. They are all correct.
73. Which sentence is correct?
a. Have you seen my vacation photo’s?
b. Do you know your ABC’s?
c. There are too many A’s in this word.
d. They are all correct.
74. Which sentence is written best?
a. I work at the Beverly Co.
b. I received a 70 percent on the quiz.
c. They stole about 50% of my money.
d. I sell, write reports, check the inventory, etc., and so on, at my job.
75. Which of the following should you never do when you write?
a. Start a sentence with a conjunction (for example, and)
b. End a sentence with a preposition
c. Split an infinitive
d. Separate two sentences with a comma and no conjunction
76. Is it (alright, all right) if I come with you?
77. I (hanged, hung) the picture on my wall.
78. My car has (dual, duel) engines.
79. (Bring, Take) these books back to the library.
80. I feel (bad, badly) about the broken vase.
81. Please be (discreet, discrete), and don’t tell anyone this secret.
82. Turn the car (in to, into) Benson Street.
83. My grandparents (emigrated, immigrated) from Poland.
Pretest
84. I would like the chocolate cake for (desert, dessert).
85. I didn’t want any pie, (anyway, anyways).
86. Boston is the (capital, capitol) of Massachusetts.
87. She acted (as if, like) she liked being here.
88. He is much better at science (than, then) I am.
89. The weather forecast says (its’ its, it’s) going to be 100 degrees today!
90. I heard that (your, you’re) computer is missing.
91. My brother has the (principal, principle) role in the play.
92. All the cast members are going over (there, their, they’re) lines.
93. Please (lay, lie) these blankets on the sand.
94. The school band (lead, led) the parade.
95. (Try and, Try to) get some sleep.
96. I don’t know (whose, who’s) jacket this is.
97. The news will (proceed, precede, procede) the late movie.
98. I walked (passed, past) the library on my way to the theater.
99. I have (fewer, less) books than you have.
100. I will (lend, loan) you five dollars if you ask me nicely.
See Appendix G for the answers.
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Chapter 1
The Parts of Speech
1.1. Introduction
The parts of speech are the categories into which every
word in the language fits. Each part of speech performs
a different function in a sentence, and some words can
be more than one part of speech, depending on their
use in a particular sentence. These parts of speech are
the building blocks of the language. When people refer
to the parts of speech, they mean these eight categories
into which all words can be placed.
Here are the eight parts of speech:
1. Noun
2. Pronoun
3. Verb
People: Susie, girl, doctor, family
Places: California, seashore
Things: dog, book, sun, rain
Ideas or emotions: happiness, religion
✎✎ You can check to see if something is a noun: Usually,
you can put the words a, an, the, or my before nouns.
Examples: the sun, a girl, a dog, a religion,
my happiness
This doesn’t work as well with words that start with capital letters, such as California or Suzie. However, most
words that start with capital letters are nouns anyway.
Remember that you don’t have to be able to see it for it
to be a noun. You can’t see ideas or emotions, but they
are still things.
4. Adjective (and Articles)
5. Adverb
6. Preposition
Practice 1—
Recognizing Nouns
7. Conjunction
8. Interjection
Identify all the nouns in the following sentences:
1.2. Nouns
A noun is a person, place, thing, idea, or emotion.
Here are some nouns:
1. Peter gave his cake to his younger brother.
2. Do you know where this idea came from in the first
place?
3. I still collect stamps, but I have new hobby: making
scrapbooks of photos I have taken.
sun
book
girl
rain
dog
family
happiness
religion
5. He was sad until he learned he had won the award;
then he was filled with happiness.
California
Susie
See Appendix G for the answers.
doctor
seashore
The words above are all people, places, things, ideas, or
emotions.
4. The department has had five meetings in the past
month.
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The Five Types of Nouns
There are five categories of nouns:
1. Common nouns are regular nouns that do not start
with capital letters, such as happiness, boy, desk, and
city.
2. Proper nouns are the nouns that start with capital
letters. They are specific people, places, things, or ideas
such as Florida, Buddhism, Joe, and Thanksgiving.
5. Find all the proper nouns: Bob, brother, summer,
Ireland, Buddhism, decision
6. Find all the abstract nouns: idea, book, school, dog,
sadness, shirt, Christianity, Empire State Building,
hunger
7. Find all the collective nouns: group, committee,
boys, tribe, happiness, bunch, clocks, collection
See Appendix G for the answers.
3. Concrete nouns are nouns that represent things you
can see, hear, smell, taste, or feel. Most nouns are concrete. Concrete nouns are either common or proper too.
Concrete nouns include grass, paper, perfume (you can
smell it), air (you can feel it), Susie, and Golden Gate
Bridge.
4. Abstract nouns are the nouns that represent ideas or
1.3. Pronouns
Pronouns take the place of nouns. For example, compare these two sentences:
Mary baked Mary’s famous lasagna for dinner.
Mary baked her famous lasagna for dinner.
emotions; you cannot perceive them with your senses.
Religion, happiness, anger, and Buddhism fall into this
category.
Her is a pronoun. It is used in the second sentence to
take the place of Mary, so we don’t have to repeat Mary.
Doesn’t the second sentence sound better?
5. Collective nouns are nouns that represent a group of
Some common pronouns are I, you, he, she, them, they,
we, us, him, her, and it.
things or people without being plural (although they
can also be made plural). Family, group, orchestra, audience, flock, bunch, and herd fall into this category. These
nouns become important when we discuss noun and
verb agreement in Section 11.3.
✎✎ Most nouns can be counted (girls, pencils, stars), but
some cannot be (salt, wisdom, sand, beauty).
Practice 2—
Recognizing Types of Nouns
Find the type of noun asked for in the following sentences. There is only one noun of the type asked for.
1. Find the proper noun: We went to New York City on
our vacation last summer.
2. Find the concrete noun: You need to add more soil
before you finish.
3. Find the abstract noun: You seem to know all the
rules of this game!
4. Find the collective noun: The band played all day in
the gymnasium.
Find all the nouns of the type requested in each series:
Antecedents
An antecedent is the word the pronoun is standing in for.
In the sentence above, Mary is the antecedent of her. An
antecedent can also be a pronoun. Pronouns can stand
in for other pronouns, as in the following sentence:
He showed the manager his report. (His and he are
the same person. He is the antecedent.)
In the following sentence, there are no antecedents
present in the sentence:
He showed the manager her report.
Obviously he is showing the manager the report of a
female (her), not his own. We would probably find the
antecedents in previous sentences in the text if we had
them. However, we can tell that he is not the antecedent
for her because they don’t agree in gender. Pronouns
must agree in gender and number (singular or plural)
with their antecedents.
✎✎ Make sure that when you write, your antecedents
are clear, so that you don’t confuse the reader. They
Parts of Speech 2
should be able to tell who is who. (See? In the previous sentence they is unclear. Does they refer to the
word antecedents or the word reader?)
Unclear antecedent: Mary and Jenny went to visit her
mother. (Whose mother?)
Practice 3—
Pronouns and Antecedents
Identify the antecedent for the italicized pronoun.
1. June brought her books back to the library.
2. I baked you a cake, but I burned it.
3. They came to the party and brought their costumes.
4. I want to take singing lessons, but my mother cannot afford to pay for them.
5. Bob loves his younger brother, who worships him.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Types of Pronouns
Pronouns can be a little tricky. There are six different
types of pronouns.
1. Personal pronouns are the most commonly used
pronouns.
Here is the complete list:
First Person: I, me, my, mine (singular); we, us, our, ours
(plural)
Second Person: you, your, yours (both singular and
plural)
Third Person: he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its (singular);
they, them, their, theirs (plural)
Practice 4—
Personal Pronouns
15
4. The story about the accident was so terrible that I
didn’t believe it at first.
5. Don’t forget to bring your bathing suit when we go
to the beach.
See Appendix G for the answers.
2. Demonstrative pronouns point things out. There are
only four of them: this, that, these, and those. Here are
some examples:
This is my new CD. (Once again, make sure your
reader knows what this refers to!)
I want those!
✎✎ If you say I want those cookies, those becomes an
adjective because it is describing cookies. More
about that in Section 1.5.
Practice 5—
Demonstrative Pronouns
Rewrite the following sentences using a demonstrative
pronoun instead of the words in italics:
Example: The pencil over there is mine. That is
mine.
1. The shirt I am holding is new.
2. I want some of the cookies in the kitchen.
3. Please take some of the books I am giving you.
See Appendix G for the answers.
3. Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.
There are five of them: which, who, whose, whom, and
what. For example:
Who is that man? What is wrong?
Identify only the personal pronouns in each sentence.
There may be more than one.
Practice 6—
Interrogative Pronouns
1. I didn’t tell him about the new idea I had.
The following sentences contain personal, demonstrative, and interrogative pronouns. Find only the interrogative pronouns. Remember that they must ask a
question, and that there are only the five of them that
2. My brother told me who is coming to my party.
3. We students are having a carwash to support our
school.
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are listed above. Not all the sentences will have an interrogative pronoun.
1. Why are you asking me this question?
2. Whom are you going with?
3. This is where I live.
4. Which do you like better, dogs or cats?
5. When are you going to get here?
5. Reflexive/intensive pronouns are personal pronouns
with -self at the end:
myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself,
herself, itself, and themselves
Here are some examples of how they are used. Notice
the difference between using them reflexively and
intensively:
6. Write the five interrogative pronouns: ________
_________ _________ _________ _________
I wrote that poem myself. (Reflexive—myself
reflects back to I )
See Appendix G for the answers.
She baked the wedding cake herself. (Reflexive—
herself reflects back to she)
4. Relative pronouns begin adjective clauses (more
about that in Section 4.3). There are five of them:
which, whom, whose, who, and that. Notice that they
are almost the same as the interrogative pronouns we
just learned about. However, relative pronouns do not
ask a question, and they do not appear at the beginning
of a sentence. Here are some examples of how relative
pronouns are used:
You can borrow the book that I just finished.
My neighbor, who is a lawyer, just came back from
Paris.
(Yes, you will learn the difference between who and
whom in Section 6.2.)
Practice 7—
Relative Pronouns
Each of the following sentences contains one of the
relative pronouns. However, the sentences also contain
other types of pronouns, including interrogative and
demonstrative pronouns, which can look like relative
pronouns. Relative pronouns begin clauses and won’t
be at the beginning of a sentence. Find the relative
pronoun in each of the following sentences.
1. I have a dog that barks all the time.
2. Do you know who that man in the costume is?
3. That is my neighbor, whose daughter lives in Mexico.
4. I really like the girl whom I have invited to go with
us.
See Appendix G for the answers.
I myself wrote that poem. (Intensive—used to
emphasize I )
I saw Jim himself at the wedding! (Intensive—used
to emphasize Jim)
✎✎ A reflexive pronoun must refer back to the subject of
the sentence. For example, you cannot use myself as
a reflexive pronoun unless I is the subject of the sentence. Likewise, you cannot use herself as a reflexive
pronoun unless she (or the noun that she represents)
is the subject of the sentence. Here are examples of
the correct and incorrect uses of the reflexive myself.
Correct: I fixed the broken fence myself.
Incorrect: She gave Jim and myself new books. (Myself
should be me.)
Note that hisself, theirselves, and ourself are not words.
See more about reflexive/intensive pronouns in Section 6.4.
Practice 8—
Intensive/Reflexive Pronouns
Fill in the blank with the appropriate reflexive/intensive
pronoun. Remember that the pronoun will refer to the
same person who is the subject of the sentence.
1. I made that dress _________.
2. She _____________said that it was true.
3. He made ______________a huge sandwich for a
snack.
4. You _______________ said it couldn’t be done, but
you did it!
Parts of Speech 2
17
5. The little boy made the tower of blocks all by
____________.
(specific person, place, thing, or idea). Pronouns are
a separate part of speech.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Proper Nouns: New York, Nancy, Christianity, Canada,
Macy’s
6. Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific noun.
Here are some examples of indefinite pronouns: someone,
everyone, anyone, no one, somebody, anybody, everybody, everything, something, anything, nothing, none, few,
many, several, all, and some (and there are more). They
Pronouns: she, anyone, they, which
are important because you need to know which ones are
singular and which ones are plural, so you know which
verb form and personal pronoun to use with them. We
will talk about these pronouns in Section 6.7.
Practice 10—
Pronoun Review
There are three pronouns in each of the following
sentences. Find each pronoun and tell which kind it
is: personal, demonstrative, interrogative, intensive/
reflexive, indefinite, or relative.
1. You and I should be friends with him.
Practice 9—
Indefinite Pronouns
_______________
We haven’t talked about indefinite pronouns very much
yet. However, see if you can find the indefinite pronouns in the following sentences. I will help you. I will
put all the pronouns in italics. Since you should already
be able to recognize personal, demonstrative, interrogative, relative, and intensive/reflexive pronouns, the
indefinite singular pronoun will be the other italicized
words! There may be none, one, or more than one indefinite pronoun in each sentence. Here we go:
_______________
1. You and I should eat something before we go.
6. When are you going to tell someone about this?
2. Is anyone home?
_______________
3. Everyone who is going on this trip should bring some
books to read.
See Appendix G for the answers.
4. All of the pizza is gone, but most of the salad that I
made is still here.
5. She didn’t do it by herself; she had help from her
friends.
6. What are you doing with that?
7. We did nothing yesterday, but tomorrow we are
going to the movies.
8. Those who think they can do anything usually can!
See Appendix G for the answers.
✎✎ Do not confuse pronouns with proper nouns. Proper
nouns begin with capital letters and are nouns
______________
______________
2. Which shirt do you think I should buy?
______________
______________
3. This is the book that I read last summer.
_______________
______________
______________
4. They finally did something by themselves!
_______________
______________
______________
5. I have never heard of anything like that!
_______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
Brain
Challenge
Can you write a sentence with one pronoun of each
type in it? Hint: It will have to be a question in order to
use an interrogative pronoun. Here is an example:
What (interrogative) are you (personal) doing
all by yourself (reflexive) that (relative) sounds
like that (demonstrative) and disturbs everyone?
(indefinite)
No, you wouldn’t really write a sentence like that, but
sometimes it is fun to try!
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1.4. Verbs
Verb: It’s what you do!
Action Verbs
Most verbs are action words. Jump, run, bake, study,
read, swim, give, and walk are examples of verbs.
Verbs can also indicate mental action, not just physical
action: think, wonder, plan, and consider are also verbs.
The boys hid in the forest. (Hid is a verb.)
I took the math test yesterday. (Took is a verb.)
The hotel provided us with rooms after the game.
(Provided is a verb.)
✎✎ Every sentence needs a verb. Without a verb, there
is no sentence!
Practice 11—
Action Verbs
Find the verbs in the following sentences. There may
be more than one verb in a sentence. Remember that
most verbs are action words, but they don’t necessarily
involve movement.
1. Jack threw the ball to Sam, who caught it.
2. Do you know anything about European history?
3. My cat jumped up on the table and ate the cookies.
4. I wonder if she likes me.
5. Tell me the truth.
See Appendix G for the answers.
I am hungry. (Hungry describes I; they are linked
by the verb am.)
She was a dancer. (Dancer describes she; they are
linked by the verb was.)
There are linking verbs other than the forms of the verb
to be. Taste, appear, look, sound, seem, and feel are also
examples of linking verbs. Usually, if you can substitute
a form of the to be verb and the sentence still makes
sense, you have a linking verb.
She felt tired today. (Tired describes she; they are
linked by the verb felt. She is tired today also
makes sense.)
He seemed angry at me. (Angry describes he; they
are linked by the verb seemed. He was angry at
me makes sense.)
Mary threw the ball. (Ball does not describe Mary;
threw is not a linking verb! Mary is the ball makes
no sense.)
To make things just a bit more confusing, words like
taste, smell, and feel are sometimes linking verbs and
sometimes action verbs. Notice the difference:
The cake tasted great! (Great describes cake; tasted
is a linking verb. The cake is great makes sense.
The cake didn’t do anything. There is no action
here.)
I tasted the cake. (Cake does not describe I; taste
is an action verb here. I am doing something.
And I am the cake doesn’t make sense.)
✎✎ Why does it matter which verbs are linking and
which are action? Good question! You will find out
in Chapter 7, “Special Issues with Verbs.”
Linking Verbs
In addition to action verbs, there is another important type of verb called a linking verb. A linking verb
ties together the word or words before the verb and
the word or words after the verb. A linking verb is like
the equal sign in math. The most common linking verb
is the verb to be. That verb has many different forms.
You probably recognize the to be verb by these familiar
forms: is, am, are, will be, was, has been, have been,
etc. Here are some sentences with forms of the to be
linking verb:
Practice 12—
Linking Verbs
Identify the linking verbs in each sentence. There may
be more than one in a sentence. Some sentences may
have an action verb and NO linking verb. Other sentences may have both action and linking verbs. Identify
only linking verbs.
1. I am tired, so I will go to bed.
2. This cake tastes burned.
Parts of Speech 2
3. She seems fine, but she says she is sick.
4. I study until my eyes hurt.
5. That cake is too pretty to eat!
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4. Present perfect tense: I have walked to the store
every day this week. (It happened in the past and is
possibly continuing.)
See Appendix G for the answers.
Present perfect progressive tense: I have been walking to the store.
Practice 13—
Action and Linking Verbs
5. Past perfect tense: I had walked for an hour by the
time I found the library. (It happened in the past
before something else happened in the past.)
Identify all the verbs in the following sentences, and
tell whether each one is action or linking. There may be
more than one verb in a sentence.
1. If you are correct, then there is no answer to this
problem.
2. Clean your room, and then mow the lawn.
3. I think that she is the tallest girl in the room.
4. My office is too small, and my desk won’t fit.
5. I shop, clean, and visit my mother on weekends.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Tenses
Verbs have some qualities you should know about. One
of these is tense, which has to do with time. The tense
of a verb tells you when the action took place. Verbs
are the only action part of speech, so they are the only
part of speech with tense. As you know, things can take
place in the past, in the present, or in the future. There
are six main tenses, each representing a different time.
Each of these six has a partner (the progressive form),
making the total number of tenses twelve. Here they are,
using the action verb walk:
1. Present tense: I walk to the store. (It is happening
now.)
Present progressive tense: I am walking to the store.
2. Past tense: I walked to the store. (It happened in the
past, and it is over.)
Past progressive tense: I was walking to the store.
3. Future tense: I will walk to the store. (It will happen
in the future.)
Future progressive tense: I will be walking to the
store.
Past perfect progressive tense: I had been walking to
the store when I met Sue.
6. Future perfect tense: I will have walked five miles by
the time I get to your house. (It will happen in the
future before some other future event.)
Future perfect progressive tense: I will have been
walking five miles a day for six years by the time I
graduate from high school.
The progressive tenses represent the same time as their
matching tenses. The words that we use to help specify
the tenses (such as will, have, and have been) are called
helping verbs.
✎✎ Although some helping verbs look like forms of the
linking verb to be, they are not. Because they are
with another verb (in this case, walk), they are called
helping verbs. For example, in “I will have been walking,” will have been are helping verbs, and walking is
the main verb. If “will have been” is used without a
main verb, then it is a linking verb. For example, in
“I will have been a teacher for three years,” will have
been is a linking verb. There is no other verb in the
sentence, and teacher describes I.
Here are the tenses for the linking verb to be, using the
pronoun you:
Present/Present Progressive: you are/you are being
Past/Past Progressive: you were/you were being
Future/Future Progressive: you will be/you will be being
Present Perfect/Present Perfect Progressive: you have
been/you have been being
Past Perfect/Past Perfect Progressive: you had been/you
had been being
Future Perfect/Future Perfect Progressive: you will have
been/you will have been being
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Practice 14—
Verb Tenses
1. rain
rained
2. wash
_____________
Fill in each blank with the verb and tense in parentheses.
You may use the progressive form if you like.
3. study
_____________
4. play
_____________
5. graduate
_____________
1. We __________________ to the movies three times
this week. (verb: to go—present perfect tense)
2. I ___________________ a cake for your birthday.
(verb: to bake, future tense)
3. We __________________ at that mall before. (verb:
to shop—past perfect tense)
4. I ___________________ piano lessons for seven
years by this winter. (verb: to take—future perfect
tense)
5. I ___________________ until I couldn’t study any
longer. (verb: to study—past tense)
6. She ___________________ football with all the boys
in her class. (verb: to play—present tense)
See Appendix G for the answers.
Irregular Verb Forms
When we talk about different forms of a verb, we are
usually referring to how the verb changes in a different
tense, generally past or present perfect. Most verbs add
-ed to the end for the past tense, but many verbs have
other past tense forms; these verbs are called irregular.
We will talk more about irregular verbs in Section 7.2,
but here are a few examples of regular and irregular verbs.
Regular verbs:
I walked to the train station. (ends in -ed )
He wondered about his dream. (ends in -ed )
Irregular verbs:
He thought about it for a while. (not thinked! )
The cat ate its food. (not eated! )
See Appendix G for the answers.
Voice
Another quality of verbs is voice. There are two voices:
active and passive. In active voice, the subject of the sentence (usually, the noun or pronoun before the verb) is
doing the action. In passive voice the subject is usually
not doing the action of the verb. Can you see the difference between the voices?
He drove to the mall. (active—the subject of the
sentence, he, did the driving.)
He was driven to the mall by his sister. (passive)
✎✎ When you write, use active voice most of the time. It
is stronger and more effective. See Section 7.5.
Practice 16—
Active and Passive Voice
See if you can identify the verbs in the following sentences as active voice or passive voice. The verbs are in
italics.
1. I mowed the lawn this morning. ____________
2. I was told a secret. ____________
3. Did you see that dog? ____________
4. We celebrated her birthday with cake and ice cream.
____________
5. She bought six dresses and four pair of pants.
____________
6. She was awarded the gold medal. ____________
7. I thought about it for a long while. ____________
Practice 15—
Regular Verbs
8. The committee met for the last time on Friday.
____________
Write the past tense of the following verbs. They are
all regular verbs. The first one is done for you. You will
find this easy!
9. The school was built in 1970. ____________
10. I built a roller coaster out of Legos. ____________
See Appendix G for the answers.
Parts of Speech 2
Transitive/Intransitive
One more thing about verbs (yes, they are rather complicated). Verbs are also classified as either transitive or
intransitive. The dictionary refers to verbs as either vi
(verb intransitive) or vt (verb transitive) where it tells
you the part of speech.
Transitive verbs have a direct object; intransitive verbs
don’t. Direct objects are discussed in Section 2.4. Basically, if you ask what or who about the verb, the answer
is the direct object. Direct objects are always nouns or
pronouns. Here are some examples.
They played baseball. (Played what? Baseball. Baseball is the direct object, so played is
transitive.)
They played in the yard. (Played what or who? The
sentence does not tell you. There is no direct
object, and played is intransitive.)
Practice 17—
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
In each of the following sentences, identify the italicized
verb as either transitive or intransitive. If it is transitive,
identify its direct object.
1. I played chess with George.
2. She walked to school.
3. Jess bought a new suit.
4. Did you see the cat jump over the fence?
5. I wrote the monthly report for my company.
See Appendix G for the answers.
✎✎ You already learned in Section 1.2 that you can tell if
a word is a noun by putting a, an, or the in front of
it. How can you tell if a word is a verb? Put the word
to in front of it, for example, to jump, to think, to be,
to study, to allow.
1.5. Adjectives
Compared to verbs, Adjectives are pretty simple. They
are used to describe nouns (people, places, things,
ideas) and sometimes pronouns. Adjectives can also
describe other adjectives. They tell how many, what
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kind, or which ones. Here are some examples of adjectives describing (or modifying) nouns:
pretty bird
six trees
blue dress
handsome guy
good idea
Here is an example of an adjective that describes a
pronoun:
He is handsome.
Notice that the structure is a little different here. When
describing a pronoun, the adjective is usually after the
verb rather than right before the pronoun. Notice that
when the adjective comes after the verb, the verb is
always a linking verb (is, in the sentence above). Sometimes, of course, the adjective can come before the pronoun. For example
Silly me!
Here is an adjective describing another adjective:
bright blue dress
The adjective blue is describing the noun dress. However, the adjective bright is describing the type of blue
(not the dress).
What if you said old, torn dress? Old and torn are both
adjectives, but they both describe the noun dress. It is
an old dress, and it is a torn dress.
When both adjectives describe the noun (as in old,
torn dress), you generally put a comma between the
two adjectives. When one adjective describes the
other adjective (as in bright blue dress), do not use a
comma. One way to figure this out is to put the word
and between the two adjectives. If it makes sense, use
a comma.
Old and torn dress makes sense. Use a comma:
Old, torn dress
Other Types of Adjectives
There are a couple of special types of adjectives. However, they have the same function as any other adjective.
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1. Demonstrative Adjectives: In Section 1.3 we discussed
demonstrative pronouns. They are this, that, these,
and those. These same four words, when placed right
before a noun, are demonstrative adjectives. Notice the
difference:
This is my book. (demonstrative pronoun)
This book is mine. (demonstrative adjective
describing book)
2. Proper Adjectives: Proper adjectives, like proper nouns,
begin with a capital letter. Here are a few examples:
Thanksgiving dinner, Italian food, Catholic religion
3. Articles: The words a, an, and the are called articles.
Sometimes they are thought of as a separate part of
speech, but they are really adjectives.
✎✎ Some words can be used as more than one part of
speech, depending on how they are used in a particular sentence. Nouns can often be used as adjectives.
Here are some examples: beef stew, bread pudding,
prom dress, Christmas vacation.
Adverbs tell where, when, how, or to what extent.
Adverbs usually end in -ly, but not always. Here are
some examples of adverbs:
She ran quickly. Quickly describes how she ran
(ran is the verb).
He is extremely intelligent. Extremely describes the
adjective intelligent.
He writes really quickly. Really describes quickly,
also an adverb. Quickly describes how he writes
(writes is the verb).
As we said above, not all adverbs end in -ly. And, some
words that end in -ly are adjectives, not adverbs, because
they describe nouns. Here are some examples:
What a lovely dress. Lovely describes the noun
dress, so it is an adjective.
I have three sisters, so I am never lonely. Lonely
describes the pronoun I. The two words are
linked with the linking verb am. (Note that the
word never is an adverb telling when. It describes
the adjective lonely.)
Practice 18—
Identifying Adjectives
Many adverbs do not end in -ly. Some of these adverbs
include now, then, soon, very, only, often, and not.
Each of the following sentences contains three adjectives. See if you can identify them by circling each
adjective. These adjectives may include articles, proper
adjectives, and demonstrative adjectives.
✎✎ There is usually more than one place to put an adverb
in a sentence. Sometimes the location of an adverb
changes the meaning of a sentence (for example, see
Chapter 12 for a discussion about the adverb only).
Other times, the sentence is simply clearer if you
place the adverb close to the verb.
1. I had three books, but I gave one book to my younger
brother.
2. The tall tree in the yard has fallen.
3. This cat is mine, but that cat is from the shelter.
4. Which of these two cookies looks good to you?
5. We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner!
See Appendix G for the answers.
1.6. Adverbs
Like adjectives, adverbs are describing words. However, while adjectives describe nouns or pronouns
(people and things), adverbs are used to describe verbs
(actions). Sometimes adverbs also describe adjectives
or other adverbs.
I go for a walk in the woods often.
I often go for a walk in the woods. (better way to
write it)
Often, I go for a walk in the woods. (also good)
✎✎ Be careful not to overuse the adverbs really, so, and
very. Always avoid using two reallys, sos, or verys in
a row (for example, really, really good).
Practice 19—
Identifying Adverbs
Identify each adverb in the following sentences. Some
sentences may have more than one adverb. Every sentence here has at least one adverb.
Parts of Speech 2
1. We went up the stairs quietly.
to the movies
before dinner
2. Soon I will be 12 years old.
up the tree
along the riverbank
3. He drives very slowly.
4. This is too heavy for me to carry.
5. She tenderly held the baby and kissed her softly.
See Appendix G for the answers.
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There are many other prepositions, but you get the idea!
If a preposition does not have a noun or pronoun after
it, it is generally not a preposition; it is being used as an
adverb.
I am going inside the house (prepositional phrase;
inside is a preposition).
Practice 20—
Placing Adverbs
In some of the following sentences, the adverb is not
in the best place. Find a better place to put the adverb.
Other sentences are correct. Identify which sentences
are written well. Remember that many times there is
more than one correct place to put the adverb.
1. We walked down carefully the stairs.
2. He will be soon coming home.
3. Put the toys away quietly.
4. The cat purred and ran up the stairs contentedly.
5. Gladly I gave him the old baby clothes I had collected.
See Appendix G for the answers.
1.7. Prepositions
Prepositions are usually little words, and they are always
part of a phrase (a group of a few related words—see
Section 3.2) known, not surprisingly, as a prepositional
phrase. A prepositional phrase generally consists of a
preposition, sometimes an article (a, an, or the), and
a noun or pronoun (which is called the object of the
preposition). Prepositional phrases usually answer the
questions where? or when?
Here are some examples of prepositions in a phrase (the
preposition is in bold):
I am going inside. (There is no prepositional
phrase; inside is an adverb here.)
✎✎ You may have heard that you aren’t supposed to
end a sentence with a preposition. There are some
cases where you probably should not end a sentence
with a preposition; however, sometimes you should
because it sounds better.
Whom are you going with? It is fine to end the sentence
this way (with the preposition with). With whom are you
going? is also fine.
Where are you at? Please do not end a sentence this way.
You don’t need the at. Just leave it off.
What are you staring at? This is fine. You can’t leave at
off here. You can say, At what are you staring, but ending
this sentence with at is fine.
It is very important to be able to recognize prepositional
phrases. Often, recognizing a prepositional phrase will
help you decide whether to use who or whom, I or me,
him or he, etc. (more about this in Chapter 6). It is also
important to put your prepositional phrases in the correct
place in the sentence (more about this in Section 11.5).
Practice 21—
Identifying Prepositional Phrases
Each sentence below contains one prepositional phrase.
Can you find it?
in the box
down the stairs
with my friends
beside the desk
at school
within the city
around the room
for the committee
of ours
among the students
4. We ran around the track twenty times!
between the chairs
beneath the table
5. I went to the museum.
by the author
after the storm
1. The cat is under the table.
2. We camp at the lake every summer.
3. Come into the house before you freeze!
See Appendix G for the answers.
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1.8. Conjunctions
Conjunctions are joining words. They join words,
phrases (a short group of related words), or even sentences together. (See Chapter 3 for more information
about phrases.) The most common conjunction is and.
Jack and Jill (joins two words together).
I went to school and to the movies (joins two
phrases together).
I am a student, and my brother is a dentist (joins
two sentences).
And is called a coordinating conjunction. There are seven
coordinating conjunctions. They are for, and, nor, but,
or, yet, and so. The first letters of these words spell out
FANBOYS.
Remember the “word” FANBOYS, and you will remember these conjunctions!
Practice 22—
Coordinating Conjunctions
Fill in the blank in each sentence with one of the seven
FANBOYS conjunctions. Use a different conjunction
for each sentence. Use the conjunction that makes the
most sense in that sentence.
1. I would buy that toy for you, _______ I don’t have
any money.
2. She is small, ______ very strong.
3. Do you want the chicken _____ the steak?
4. Bobbie _____ Jim are getting married.
5. I like neither liver ________ brussels sprouts.
6. I have other plans, ____ I won’t be going with you.
7. You will need to study more, ______ you got a bad
grade.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Subordinating Conjunctions
The FANBOYS conjunctions are called coordinating conjunctions because they connect, or join, two or more
things. There is another kind of conjunction, called a subordinating conjunction. These conjunctions begin subordinate clauses (see Section 4.3). Subordinating conjunctions
include (but are not limited to) these words: although,
since, if, because, until, when, whenever, before (sometimes) and after (sometimes).
Although I am small, I am strong (subordinate
clause begins with although).
Because I have no money, I cannot go to the movies (subordinate clause begins with because).
I cannot get my license until I turn sixteen (subordinate clause begins with until ).
✎✎ When you are joining two words, there is no comma.
However, in a series or more than two things, use
a comma after each item in the series except, of
course, the last item. The comma before the conjunction (usually and) is optional and is called the
Oxford comma. I prefer to use it.
I packed shoes and socks. (two items only; no
comma)
I packed shoes, socks, pants, and shirts. (comma
after pants is optional)
✎✎ There is generally a comma before a FANBOYS conjunction that connects two complete sentences.
I sprained my ankle, so I cannot go hiking today.
I cannot go with you, but my sister can.
✎✎ Can you begin a sentence with a FANBOYS conjunction? Yes and no. Most people now say it is perfectly okay to begin a sentence with and, but, or so.
My opinion? I do it in this book. I do it in my blog
posts. Would I do it in a cover letter or a job application? No.
Practice 23—
Identifying Subordinating Conjunctions
Fill in each blank with the best subordinating conjunction. Use a different conjunction for each sentence.
Choose from these five conjunctions:
Until
Although
Because
Whenever
If
1. _____________ I read that book, I don’t remember
it very well.
2. We never made it to Paris _____________ we ran out
of time.
Parts of Speech 2
3. I didn’t believe it _____________ I saw it with my
own eyes.
4. _____________ you see your cousin, tell him I miss
him.
5. _____________ I eat chocolate, I am happy!
See Appendix G for the answers.
1.9. Interjections
Wow! This is an easy part of speech. Interjections are
words that don’t add anything grammatically to the
sentence; they are usually exclamatory words, but not
always. Sometimes they are followed by an exclamation
point; other times they are connected to the sentence
with a comma. Interjections are generally not used in
formal writing like business letters.
Here are some interjections: hey, gosh, ouch, gee whiz,
wow, oh, well
Wow! What a nice car!
Ouch! That really hurt!
Well, I think I am going with you.
Oh, I am sorry about that.
Practice 24—
Adding Interjections
Fill in each blank with one of the following interjections.
Use each interjection only once.
Ouch
Wow
Help
1. ________! Look at that beautiful sunset.
25
Spring is my favorite season. (noun)
I can’t wait until spring break. (adjective describing
break)
My cat will spring forward to grab the ball of yarn!
(verb)
Brain
Challenges
The following sentences have just one part of speech
missing. Can you tell which one it is?
1. Well, I looked in the car and I couldn’t find the purple sweater.
2. Wow! You and little John swim well, but I don’t.
3. Oh, they are happily baking cookies and brownies
in the kitchen.
The following sentences are missing two parts of speech.
Can you fill in the blanks with those two parts of speech?
4. ______! Jim and ____ are quietly playing Scrabble,
and Marcy is playing computer games with Tim.
5. Ouch! I ____________ my foot on the table, and then
I saw my ____ toe bleeding.
Can you write a sentence using all eight parts of speech?
Try to make it no longer than 12 words long. (You can
repeat parts of speech.) Here is mine:
Wow! My friends and I stupidly ran up that huge hill!
Noun—friends, hill
Pronoun—my, I
Verb—ran
2. ________! The garage is on fire!
Adjective—that, huge
3. ________! I stepped on a rock!
Adverb—stupidly
See Appendix G for the answers.
Conjunction—and
Preposition—up
1.10. Using the Parts of Speech
We have now talked about each of the parts of speech.
Every word in the English language belongs to one or
more of those parts of speech. If a word can be used as
more than one part of speech, then it depends on how
it is used in the sentence. For example, let’s look at the
word spring.
Interjection—wow
You probably won’t ever have the need to write a sentence with all eight parts of speech, but isn’t it nice to
know that you can? Knowing the parts of speech gives
you more control over what you write and more freedom to write exactly what you are trying to say.
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Chapter 1 Test
The Parts of Speech
Part 1—Match each word with its part of speech. Use
each letter only once.
2. I attend Mills College.
Mills College is what type of noun?
1. around ___
a. noun
2. wow ____
b. pronoun
3. desk ____
c. verb
4. think ____
d. adjective
5. but ____
e. adverb
a. present
6. really ____
f. preposition
7. pretty ____
g. conjunction
4. You and I should do something fun for your birthday.
8. them ____
h. interjection
a. simple
d. passive
The verb in this sentence is in what tense?
b. past
c. future
d. future perfect
How many pronouns are in the sentence?
a. four
type in parentheses.
1. Which of these chairs do you like? (interrogative)
2. You and Penny are sure to love the movie! (personal)
3. I smell something good in the kitchen. (indefinite)
4. I made the cookies myself. (reflexive)
5. This is my cookie! (demonstrative)
6. This is my sister, who is ten years old. (relative)
3—Write all 7 coordinating conjunctions
(FANBOYS)
b. two
c. three
d. none
5. That book is interesting but difficult to read.
How many adjectives did you find in that sentence?
What are they?
a. none
b. three
c. one
d. two
Part 5—Fill in the blanks with the information in
parentheses.
1. _______! That’s a huge bike for you! (interjection)
2. _______ and I are on our way to work. (proper noun)
3. We ran _______________ all morning. (prepositional phrase)
4. We picked _______________ up from the airport.
(personal pronoun)
5. Susan _______________ when she gets home. (future
tense verb)
Part 4—Multiple Choice. Find the correct answer.
1. She drove her new car to school.
The verb in this sentence is
a. passive
c. pronoun
3. We will go to Paris next year.
Part 2—In each sentence, identify the pronoun of the
Part
b. proper
b. a noun c. transitive
d. future tense
How did you do? Check your answers in Appendix G.
Chapter 2
Sentences
2.1. Introduction:
What Is a Sentence?
Words are combined to make up sentences. A sentence
is a complete thought. Almost everything you read is
made up of sentences. Every word in a sentence is, of
course, one of the eight parts of speech. A sentence
might contain more than one instance of a certain part
of speech (for example, four nouns, or three verbs, or
five adjectives) and does not need to contain all the parts
of speech. In fact, hardly any sentence would contain
all eight parts of speech. However, remember that each
word in a sentence is one of the eight parts of speech.
Each word in a sentence also performs a certain function in the sentence. These functions will be described
in this chapter. The function a word performs in the
sentence is not always the same as its part of speech.
“Parts of speech” refers only to these eight words: noun,
pronoun, verb, adjective (and article), adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.
Knowing how sentences are formed and what a sentence requires will help your writing.
more than one). To find the subject, first find the verb
and ask who is doing the action. If there are two subjects, generally joined with a conjunction (for example,
Jack and Jill), we call that a compound subject.
1. The man tied his shoes. (The subject is man.)
2. Everyone is going to the movies. (The subject is
everyone, a pronoun.)
3. Who is knocking at the door? (The subject is who.)
4. After school, she and I always do our homework.
(The subjects are she and I; remember that more
than one subject is called a compound subject.)
5. Do you know who is at the door? (The subject is you.)
In a question, it is often easier to find the subject and
the verb if you make the question a statement: You
do know who is at the door.
Practice 25—
Identifying Subjects
Identify the subject or subjects in the following
sentences:
1. I play tennis with my friends every Wednesday.
2.2. Subjects
Every sentence has a subject. The subject is the who
or what that the sentence is about. The subject of the
sentence is always a noun or a pronoun (or a group of
words that functions as a noun, but don’t worry about
that right now.) The subject is usually whatever or whoever is doing the action of the verb. The subject is often
the first word in a sentence, but not always. There are
sometimes introductory words, phrases, or clauses (see
Chapters 3 and 4). However, the subject usually does
come before the verb it belongs to, wherever that might
be in the sentence. Every sentence needs a subject (or
2. You and Jane should visit me this weekend.
3. My boss gave me instructions to do this report.
4. Next summer we are going to Disneyland.
5. Although it is hot out, I still need to mow the lawn.
6. Jack, Joan, and Fred are still not home.
7. What are you doing today?
8. Clean your room before dinner.
See Appendix G for the answers.
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Complete Subjects
Sometimes adjectives or phrases are part of a subject,
along with the noun or pronoun. The entire subject is
called the complete subject. For example
(complete subject)
(complete predicate)
The girl in the blue dress / is walking toward the school.
In the above sentence, the girl in the blue dress is the
complete subject. The verb phrase (new term? It simply
refers to the verb and any helping verb with it) is is
walking, which is also the simple predicate (see the next
section). The complete predicate is is walking toward
the school, which is the whole sentence without the
complete subject.
Practice 27—
Dividing the Sentence into Subject and
Predicate
Place a line between the complete subject of the
sentence (the subject and anything that modifies it) and
the predicate (the verb and anything that modifies it).
1. The large dog scared us.
2. Fourteen boys and nine girls came to the party.
3. The chocolate cake in the kitchen is for dessert after
dinner.
See Appendix G for the answers.
2.4. Objects
The predicate of the sentence is the verb. The verb, along
with any helping verbs it may have (see Section 1.4), is
called the simple predicate. The complete predicate is
actually the whole sentence except for the subject. Every
Like subjects, objects are always nouns or pronouns (or
groups of words that function as a noun). Unlike subjects and verbs, sentences do not need to have objects
to be complete sentences. However, most sentences
have objects. There are three kinds of objects a sentence
might have: direct, indirect, and objects of prepositions
(see Section 1.7). A sentence can have any combination
of the three types of objects, or no object at all.
Practice 26—
Identifying Verbs
Direct Objects
2.3. Predicates
sentence needs at least one verb.
Identify the verbs in the following sentences. They
might be either linking verbs or action verbs, and there
may be more than one verb in the sentence. Two verbs
that have the same subject and are connected with a
conjunction are called compound verbs. If you can find
the helping verbs, include them in your verbs.
1. Everyone went on the field trip to the city.
2. I climbed the mountain, and then I was very tired.
3. The teacher has given us the instructions many times.
4. The dogs barked and growled as we walked by.
5. Are you going to the party?
6. I am going to the movies, but my brother is taking
a nap.
7. Tell me the truth.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Direct objects receive the action of the verb. If you ask
what? or who? about the verb, the answer will be the
direct object. Here are some examples:
I threw the ball at Jim. (Threw what? The ball is the
direct object.)
We ate pizza for dinner last night. (Ate what? Pizza is
the direct object.)
Last week, I wrote three papers for history class.
(Wrote what? Papers is the direct object. Three
is an adjective describing how many papers. It
doesn’t really matter if you include that as part of
the direct object.)
We walked to the movies yesterday afternoon.
(Walked what? The sentence doesn’t answer this
question, so there is no direct object.)You might
think to the movies would be the direct object.
However, it doesn’t answer who? or what? and it
is a prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases
Sentences
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are not direct objects, not will any part of a prepositional phrase be a direct object.)
I gave her a gift. (Gift is the direct object—gave
what? The indirect object is her.)
We walked the dog around the block. (Walked what?
Dog is the direct object here. So unlike in the
previous example, the verb walked has a direct
Mom baked me a cake. (The direct object is cake—
baked what? The indirect object is me.)
object here.)
As you already read in Section 1.4, verbs that have a
direct object in a particular sentence are called transitive. Verbs without a direct object are called intransitive. Some verbs are usually transitive; others are always
intransitive. Other verbs can be either transitive or
intransitive, depending on the sentence.
Practice 28—
Identifying Direct Objects
Identify the direct objects in the following sentences.
Two direct objects with the same verb are called compound objects, and you may find some of those too.
Some of the sentences will not have a direct object.
1. I play chess every evening.
2. Every Monday morning, I go to a yoga class.
Some verbs lend themselves to having indirect objects,
but there are many verbs that will never have an indirect object. It is rare to make a grammatical mistake
with indirect objects, so don’t worry. Do note, however,
the following two sentences that mean the same thing:
She gave me the tickets to the concert.
She gave the tickets to the concert to me.
In the first sentence, me is the indirect object (tickets is
the direct object). In the second sentence, there is no
indirect object. To me is a prepositional phrase; some
people call it an indirect object anyway, but I call it a
prepositional phrase. It doesn’t matter which way you
write the sentence. They mean the same thing.
Practice 29—
Identifying Indirect Objects
5. Tell him your secret.
Identify the indirect objects in the following sentences.
Some sentences will have no indirect objects. Some
sentences may have a compound indirect object. If you
can, identify the direct objects too.
6. We walked around the park.
1. I gave you the tickets yesterday.
3. I ate pizza and salad for dinner last night.
4. He took his book back to the library.
7. Did you see a purple sweater anywhere?
See Appendix G for the answers.
2. We walked for miles and miles!
3. Did you bake me that beautiful cake?
4. Did you see my book anywhere?
Indirect Objects
5. Blue is my favorite color.
Indirect objects come between the verb and the direct
object. You cannot have an indirect object unless you
also have a direct object, but you can have a direct object
without an indirect object. Examples will help here!
6. He invited us to his birthday celebration.
I threw the ball at James. (The direct object is ball—
answers threw what?)
Jane ate three pieces of cake. (The direct object is
pieces—ate what? The direct object is not cake
because cake is part of a prepositional phrase.
You won’t find the direct or indirect object in a
prepositional phrase.)
7. He showed Jim and me his insect collection.
8. I told my baby sister a story.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Objects of a Preposition
We talked about objects of prepositions in Section 1.7.
A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition (for
example, in, out, up, down, with, along, between, etc.),
usually followed by an article (a, an, or the), and then
always by a noun or pronoun. This noun or pronoun is
the object of the preposition. Here are some examples:
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Jimmy ran up the stairs. (Stairs is the object of the
preposition up.)
In Paris we saw the Eiffel Tower. (Paris is the object
of the preposition in. There is no article in this
phrase.)
Something is stuck between the pages. (Pages is the
object of the preposition between.)
Practice 30—
Identifying Objects of Prepositions
Each of the following sentences has at least one object
of a preposition. Remember that objects can be either
nouns or pronouns. Identify all the objects of prepositions in the following sentences.
1. I finished my report for psychology class.
2. That song is sung by my favorite artist.
3. For my birthday, I received a lot of money.
4. I gave that book to my cousin and my uncle.
5. My older sister is at college now.
6. We jogged around the track and then along the river.
See Appendix G for the answers.
✎✎ We mentioned compound subjects and objects. Any
type of object can be compound. Verbs can be compound too. Here are some examples:
Jack and Jill came down the hill. (compound subject—
Jack and Jill)
We ate and drank until we were stuffed! (compound
verb—ate and drank)
He read mysteries and science fiction most of the
time. (compound direct object—mysteries and science fiction)
Maddie baked my sister and me a pie. (compound
indirect object—my sister and me)
He sent the memo to my boss and me. (compound
object of the preposition—my boss and me)
2.5. Predicate Words
Linking verbs (refer back to Section 1.4) do not have
objects. Because linking verbs function as equal signs in
a sentence, there is no receiver of the action of the verb.
Linking verbs have predicate adjectives and predicate
nominatives (nouns) that may look like objects. We will
talk more about predicate nominatives in Section 6.2
when we talk about pronoun cases.
Her are some examples of predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives.
I am a writer. (Am is a linking verb, so writer is
not an object. Since writer is a noun, it is called a
predicate nominative.)
I am happy. (Am is a linking verb, so there is no
object. Since happy is an adjective, it is called a
predicate adjective.)
It seems cold outside. (Seems is a linking verb, so
there is no object. Cold is a predicate adjective.)
This cookie tastes stale. (Tastes is a linking verb
here, so there is no object. Stale is a predicate
adjective.)
Practice 31—
Identifying Predicate Adjectives and Predicate
Nominatives
Identify the predicate nouns and adjectives in the following sentences. Remember that you must have a
linking verb to have predicate words. If the verb is an
action verb, it may have an object, but it will not have
a predicate nominative or predicate adjective. Some of
the sentences will not have predicate words, and others
may have more than one.
1. This dress looks beautiful on you.
2. The cookies look terrible, but they taste great!
3. I baked these cookies last night.
4. She is tall, but her brother is even taller!
5. She plays the violin really well.
6. Her cousin is an actor.
See Appendix G for the answers.
✎✎ Remember that a linking verb connects the words
before and after it. It functions as an “equal” sign
in the sentence. The subject and the predicate word
are equal. In the examples at the beginning of this
section, I is the “same” as writer and happy. However, when there is an action verb, there is no linking
Sentences
of words before and after the verb. In the example
I threw the ball, threw is not linking I and ball. I am
not equal to a ball! We will talk more about linking
verbs in Section 7.4.
2.6. The Four Kinds of Sentences
In Chapter 5 we will talk about the different structures
of sentences, but here we will identify the kinds of sentences by describing what the sentence is doing.
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31
✎✎ When you look at most commands, they do not seem
to have a subject. For example, you might tell your
dog, “Sit.” While that may not look like a sentence
(since it is only a verb), it is actually a sentence. Most
commands do not have a subject visible in the sentence. However, there is an implied subject, which is
usually indicated in grammar books by putting the
subject in parentheses. What is the subject? You. It
is the person you are talking to:
(You) please do your chores now.
(You) go to the store and get some salad for dinner.
Declarative Sentence
A declarative sentence makes a statement and generally
has a period at the end of it. Here are two examples:
I am changing jobs next week.
We all enjoyed the concert last night.
Interrogative Sentence
Interrogative sentence is a fancy name for a sentence
that asks a question. This type of sentence would generally end with a question mark. Here are two examples:
Which movie do you want to see?
Did you ask her if she has the report ready?
✎✎ On the other hand, I asked her if she had the report
ready is not a question even though the word asked
is there. It is simply a declarative sentence, or a
statement.
Imperative Sentence
Imperative sentence is a fancy name for a sentence that
gives a command. These sentences usually end with a
period. Here are two examples:
Please do your chores now.
Go to the store and get some salad for dinner.
Exclamatory Sentence
An exclamatory sentence expresses emotion (usually
excitement of some type) and ends with an exclamation point. Notice that sometimes an interrogative
(question) or imperative (command) can be treated as
an exclamatory sentence, although most of the time
the sentence is declarative said with emotion. Here are
some examples:
There is a fire in the garage!
Don’t crash into that car! (also imperative)
What do you think you’re doing! (also interrogative)
Practice 32—
Identifying the Types of Sentences
Identify each sentence as declarative, interrogative,
imperative, or exclamatory.
1. Look at that huge cat!
2. I saw a cat in those bushes.
3. There’s a train coming!
4. Did you see the cat hiding in the bushes?
5. Try to get the cat out of the bushes.
See Appendix G for the answers.
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Chapter 2 Test
Sentences
Part 1—Identify the subject(s) and verb(s) in these
sentences:
1. Jim reads for an hour every night.
2. You and I will walk a mile to the mall.
3. The grapes taste really good.
4. On the last test, I received an A.
5. The dog ate and drank everything in its bowl.
Part 2—Separate each sentence into the subject and
predicate.
1. That big brown dog attacked the neighbor yesterday.
2. Suzie, Jack, Holly, Mike, and all the others are invited
to our party.
3. Dinner consists of steak, potatoes, salad, and bread.
Part 3—Find all the objects in the following sentences,
and identify which type each one is: direct object, indirect object, or object of the preposition. Sentences may
have more than one object, but each sentence has at
least one.
1. Take your coat and come with me.
2. She gave me a birthday gift yesterday.
3. We exercise in the morning and at night.
4. Joe took me to the baseball game.
5. In Paris, we took a train around the countryside.
Part 4—Label each predicate word as a predicate adjec-
tive or a predicate nominative. There is at least one (and
maybe more) in each sentence.
1. She is pretty.
2. Aren’t you tired yet?
3. She is a cheerleader with the football team.
4. I didn’t know whether you were Santa Claus last
Christmas.
Part 5—Identify all the objects and predicate words in
the following sentences, and tell which type of object
or predicate word each is. Sentences may have one or
more.
1. Finish your dinner before you go to the beach.
2. She told me the story about the rabbit and the bear.
3. At work I have six reports that I must finish before
Friday.
4. Those cherries are tasty, but the bananas are not ripe
yet.
5. Which tickets are you giving him for the game on
Sunday?
Part 6—Which sentence in Part 5 is imperative? _____
See Appendix G for the answers.
Chapter 3
Phrases
3.1. Introduction:
What Is a Phrase?
A phrase is a small group of words that go together. A
phrase is never a complete sentence, and it never has
both a subject and a verb.
Phrases generally function as one part of speech. Some
phrases act as adjectives, describing a noun in the sentence. Other phrases function as adverbs, describing a
verb or perhaps an adjective in the sentence. Still other
phrases act as nouns and might be the subject or object
in a sentence.
Phrases add information and variety to your writing.
In Section 1.4 we talked briefly about verb phrases (the
verb and its helping verbs). There are several other
common types of phrases.
3.2. Prepositional Phrases
We talked about prepositional phrases in Section 1.7.
Prepositions always appear in phrases, which all have
pretty much the same structure: preposition, (sometimes an article), noun or pronoun. Prepositional
phrases tell where, when, and sometimes how or what
kind. Prepositional phrases function as either adjectives
or adverbs. The important thing to know about prepositional phrases is where to put them in the sentence.
We will talk about that in Section 11.5.
Here are examples of adverbial prepositional phrases.
Here are some examples of adjectival prepositional
phrases:
She wore the dress with stripes. (with stripes tells
what kind of dress, so the phrase functions as an
adjective.)
This is the new book by J. K. Rowling. (by J. K. Rowling tells which book, so the phrase functions as
an adjective.)
The flag of the United States is red, white, and blue.
(of the United States tells which flag, so the
phrase functions as an adjective describing flag.)
Practice 33—
Identifying Prepositional Phrases
Each of the following sentences has one prepositional
phrase. Identify the phrase, and tell whether it is being
used as an adverb or adjective.
1. I slept on the chair.
2. After dinner, wash the dishes.
3. The chair with the pillow is very comfortable.
4. The cat is sitting under the tree.
5. The girl in blue is my sister.
6. We walked around the park.
7. You will find the computer in the office.
8. The poem was written by Robert Frost.
See Appendix G for the answers.
I put it on the table. (on the table answers where,
so the phrase functions as an adverb describing
put.)
She is at school. (at school also tells where and
modifies the verb is.)
During the movie the baby cried. (during the movie
tells when and describes the verb cried.)
3.3. Infinitive Phrases
First of all, there are infinitive phrases and there are plain
old infinitives. Infinitives are pretty easy to understand.
An infinitive is a verb with the word to in front of it. But
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it doesn’t function as a verb. An infinitive is a noun. You
will see that in the examples.
Practice 35—
Identifing Infinitives as Subjects or Objects
✎✎ The to in front of an infinitive is not a preposition, so
don’t get an infinitive confused with a prepositional
phrase. If a verb comes after to, you have an infinitive. If a noun or pronoun comes after to, then to is
a preposition:
Each of the following sentences has an infinitive phrase.
Identify the infinitive phrase and whether it is being
used as the subject or an object in the sentence.
I want to jump. (infinitive)
I jumped to the ground. (preposition)
Back to infinitives. An infinitive can be used by itself
in a sentence; however, if you add some words to it, it
becomes an infinitive phrase.
Here are some examples:
I like to write quickly. (to write is an infinitive, and
to write quickly is the entire phrase. Notice that
write is no longer a verb. The verb in the sentence
is like. Since to write quickly tells what you like, it
is actually the direct object: a noun.)
To be an actor is my greatest ambition. (to be is the
infinitive, to be an actor is the entire phrase, and
it is the subject of the sentence, thus functioning
as a noun. The verb of the sentence is is.)
I want to go to the movies later. (want is the verb,
and to go to the movies is the phrase serving as
the direct object of the sentence: want what? to
go to the movies. Notice there is also a prepositional phrase (to the movies) inside the infinitive
phrase. That’s okay.
It’s easy to use infinitives and infinitive phrases correctly.
Practice 34—
Find the Infinitive or Infinitive Phrase
Each of the following sentences has one infinitive. Identify each one.
1. I want to go to the movies right now.
2. To tell the truth is always important.
3. I plan to hand in my report tomorrow.
4. To become a doctor, you must go to school for many
years.
5. It’s not good to eat too many sweet things.
See Appendix G for the answers.
1. To be an astronaut was his dream in life.
2. I want to read that new book.
3. I cannot decide whether to see the new movie or the
concert.
4. To go to college is a necessity in this family
See Appendix G for the answers.
3.4. Participial Phrases
Participles, like infinitives, come from verbs, but they
are now adjectives (whereas infinitives are now nouns).
There are two kinds of participles: present and past.
Present Participles
A present participle is formed by adding -ing to a verb:
running, jumping, thinking, reading, etc.
Here are some sentences using present participles (or
participial phrases). Notice that they are used as adjectives: (The whole phrase is in bold.)
Running quickly, I got to school late anyway. (Running
is the participle, and it describes the pronoun I.)
Dad, driving the car, wasn’t listening. (Driving is the
participle, and it describes the noun Dad.)
The hopping bunny was so cute. (Hopping is the
participle, and it describes bunny.)
✎✎ Can you tell the difference between running in these
two sentences?
Running for the bus, he tripped and fell.
He was running for the bus when he tripped and fell.
Answer: In the first sentence, running is a participle that
describes he.
In the second sentence, running is not a participle. It is
the verb (past progressive tense) in the first part of the
sentence, and its subject is he.) Did you figure it out?
Phrases
Past Participles
A past participle is formed by using the form of the verb
that you would use with the present perfect tense (that
is the one using the helping verb have or has): written,
burned, seen, run, baked, etc.
Here are some sentences using past participles (or participial phrases). Notice that they are used as adjectives:
(The whole phrase is in bold.)
Written quickly, my essay didn’t get a very good
grade. (Written is the participle, and it describes
the noun essay.)
We noticed the burned building as we drove by.
(Burned is the participle, and it describes the
noun building.)
Baked to a perfect brown, the crust was delicious.
(Baked is the participle, and it describes the noun
crust.)
✎✎ As you will read about in Section 11.4, if you aren’t
careful, you can run into trouble with participial
phrases: If you put them in the wrong place (called
a misplaced modifier), your sentence won’t make
sense—and sometimes writers overlook these. For
example, take the first sentence above. Let’s rewrite
it a bit:
Written quickly, I didn’t get a very good grade on my
essay.
Can you see the problem? We know that written quickly
is an adjective. What is it describing in the sentence
above? Generally, in the English language things are
assumed to belong to words that are placed near them.
Written quickly, I? The rewritten sentence says that I was
written quickly not the essay, so it is incorrect. We have
a misplaced modifier.
Practice 36—
Identifying Participles
Find the participles and participial phrases in the following sentences. Some sentences have no participles,
and some may have more than one. They may be either
past or present. If you can, find the word the participle
modifies.
1. Running after the car, the dog wasn’t quite fast
enough.
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35
2. I could not eat the baked apple because I like my
apples raw!
3. I love skating on the frozen pond.
4. Sitting on my lap, my dog enjoyed the television
show about cats.
5. I took a very difficult math test last week.
6. Sneezing and coughing, my sister could barely talk.
7. Chasing the ball is my dog’s favorite hobby!
8. Chasing the ball, my dog was almost smiling!
See Appendix G for the answers.
3.5. Gerundial Phrases
Gerunds look like present participles; they have the
form of a verb with -ing added to the end. However,
whereas participles function as adjectives, gerunds
function as nouns. They can be subjects or objects in
sentences. Here are some examples of gerunds and
gerundial phrases:
Skiing is a favorite hobby of mine. (Skiing is a ger-
und and is the subject of the sentence.)
I love skiing as much as you do. (Skiing is a gerund
and is the direct object of the verb love. Love
what? skiing.)
I have read many books about skiing. (Skiing is
a gerund and is the object of the preposition
about.)
Don’t worry too much about gerunds. They are nice
to know about, but it’s difficult to make a grammatical
mistake with them.
Practice 37—
Find the Gerund
Can you find the gerunds in the following sentences?
Each sentence has one. Gerunds are used as nouns, so
be careful not to confuse them with plain old verbs ending in -ing.
1. Swimming in the pool at my friend’s house is my
favorite thing to do.
2. While she was walking, she heard yelling in the park.
3. I love knitting my own sweaters.
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4. He was completing his report when his boss told
him that his writing was excellent.
5. His job consists of tasting the chocolate to make
sure it is perfect.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Practice 38—
Gerund or Participle?
All of the following sentences contain a gerund, a participle, or both. Some sentences may have more than
one gerund or participle. Find all the gerunds and participles and identify which each is. You don’t need to
worry about the rest of the phrase.
1. Running around the track, I was out of breath.
2. Running is great exercise!
3. While I was running, I saw a burning building.
4. Closing her book, she thought about how much she
loved to read.
5. Did you finish writing yet?
6. My job consists of reading and writing.
7. Lying in the sun, she was getting a sunburn.
8. Stop talking while I explain these written instructions to you.
Notice that sometimes the appositive is set off by commas and sometimes it isn’t. When do you use commas?
As a rule, setting something off in commas means that
whatever is between the commas could be left out of
the sentence, and the reader would still know what
the sentence meant; the words inside the commas are
added information. If the appositive is needed to identify the noun or pronoun that comes before it, then no
comma is used. Look at the following sentences:
My brother, Joe, went to Princeton and then to law
school.
My brother Joe went to Princeton and then to law
school.
They are both correct, but they are different. In the first
sentence, Joe is set off with commas, implying that is isn’t
really necessary to know the brother’s name or that the
reader already knows the name. In the second sentence, Joe
is not set off with commas, meaning that it is a necessary
part of the sentence. This implies that Joe is needed to
identify the brother. One case in which this might happen
is if you had more than one brother and needed to identify
which brother went to Princeton. Sometimes whether or
not to use commas is tricky, and sometimes you can really
go either way. See Chapter 8 for more information about
commas.
See Appendix G for the answers.
3.6. A Few Words About
Appositives
An appositive is a word or group of words (phrase) that
describe a noun or pr0noun that comes right before it.
Here are some examples of appositives:
My sister Ellen is visiting next week. (Ellen is describing sister.)
Ellen, my older sister, is visiting next week. (My older
sister is an appositive phrase describing Ellen.)
My company, SWT Publications, is expanding to two
new locations.
Joe Clark, my neighbor across the street, is a
famous author. (This appositive contains a prepo-
sitional phrase.)
Practice 39—
Find the Appositives
Each of the following sentences contains one or more
appositives. Identify each appositive.
1. My sister Jean is the oldest of the six of us.
2. Mr. Green, a psychology professor, has written our
textbook.
3. He gave me a gift, a pearl necklace, for my birthday.
4. This book, one of my favorites, is very worn!
5. These pizza toppings, peppers and olives, are not my
favorites!
See Appendix G for the answers.
Phrases
2
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Chapter 3 Test
Phrases
Part 1—The following sentences contain all types of
phrases: prepositional, infinitive, participial, appositive,
and gerundial. Can you find them and identify which
type they are? Each sentence has at least one phrase.
1. Smiling broadly, John gave his girlfriend a hug for
her birthday.
2. Lisa, his girlfriend, is a senior in high school.
3. Did you want to see the new painting I bought?
4. I went to the mall to buy a new suit.
5. Did you go to the museum with your guests?
Part 4—Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.
1. My sister Jane is a doctor. The appositive is ______
3. Walking through the park, they held hands.
a. doctor
4. Giving gifts is fun, and receiving them is also fun!
2. I have a talking bird named Joey. Talking is ______
5. Receiving a bicycle for Christmas, Luke, my cousin,
learned how to ride it that very day!
Part 2—The following sentences contain either a parti-
ciple or a gerund. Identify it and tell which one it is. If it
is a participle, tell what it modifies. It it is a gerund, tell
whether it is a subject or an object.
1. She laughed as the swimming dog chased the waves.
2. Going to the movies isn’t much fun for me.
3. I like talking too much to sit through a long movie!
4. My frightened sister didn’t like the scary movie.
5. Can you tell me which way the speeding car went?
Part 3—Some of the following sentences contain infinitives. Others don’t. Find any infinitives in the sentences.
1. The child cried, “I want to go home!”
2. She saw the man as he went into the building.
a. gerund
b. sister
b. verb
c. Jane
c. noun
d. is
d. participle
3. I walked all the way to school. To school is ______
a. prepositional phrase
d. noun
b. infinitive
c. adjective
4. There is too much salt in this omelet. This sentence contains _____
a. no phrases b. an infinitive
phrase d. a gerund
c. a prepositional
5. The book that is here is yours. This sentence contains _____
a. a gerund b. a prepositional phrase
d. none of those
See Appendix G for the answers.
c. a participle
Chapter 4
Clauses
4.1. Introduction:
What Is a Clause?
In Chapter 3 we learned that a phrase is a small group of
related words without both a subject and a verb. Back in
Chapter 2, we talked about sentences and learned that
sentences contain both subjects and verbs. So what is
a clause?
A clause is a group of related words with both a subject
and a verb. You might ask, “Well, isn’t that a sentence?”
Sometimes. Some clauses are complete sentences, but
others are not.
There are two main types of clauses: dependent clauses
(otherwise known as subordinate clauses) and independent clauses, otherwise known as sentences.
4.2. Independent Clauses
An independent clause can stand on its own; in other
words, it is a sentence. One independent clause equals
one simple sentence (refer to Chapter 5 for a discussion
of the kinds of sentences). It has a subject and a verb,
and it may also have objects and phrases. It may have
more than one subject or more than one verb. Here are
examples of two different independent clauses. One is
very short and the other very long. However, they are
both just one independent clause each.
Practice 40—
Identifing Independent Clauses
Some of the following are independent clauses (complete sentences); some are not. Identify which ones are
independent clauses.
1. I want a cheeseburger.
2. Do you want some?
3. Because I am hungry.
4. She stood and stared at me.
5. Sit.
6. Although he wouldn’t tell me what he wanted.
7. Is your homework done?
8. Went home and ate dinner.
See Appendix G for the answers.
4.3. Subordinate (Dependent)
Clauses
A subordinate clause has both a subject and a verb, yet it
cannot stand alone as a sentence. Here are some examples of subordinate clauses:
because I am working late (subject is I and verb is
am working)
She spoke.
after we come home from vacation (subject is we
and verb is come)
She spoke loudly to the class, trying to be heard over
the noise.
whenever we go to the movies (subject is we and
verb is go)
which is the last movie I saw (subject is which and
verb is is)
who is my best friend (not a question: subject is
who and verb is is)
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whom you are talking to (subject is you and verb is
are talking)
5. because I couldn’t go last year
Notice that in the first three examples, you could take
the first word away and you would have a sentence.
However, that first word is part of the clause and indicates that more information is needed. There is more
that needs to be added to the thought.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Now, let’s add some words to those subordinate clauses
(sometimes called sentence fragments) to make them
complete sentences.
Because I am working late, I will miss dinner.
We will unpack after we come home from vacation.
Whenever we go to the movies, you want to sit in
the back row.
I loved Blue Jasmine, which is the last movie I saw.
Jim, who is my best friend, just moved to Oregon.
I don’t know whom you are talking to.
Look at the words we added to each subordinate clause
to make it a sentence. What did we add? Yes, we added
an independent clause (a complete sentence) to each one.
You could string together 100 subordinate clauses, and
you still wouldn’t have a complete sentence because every
sentence must contain at least one independent clause.
There are a few different types of subordinate clauses,
which we will discuss in the next sections.
Practice 41—
Subordinate Clauses
The column on the left consists of subordinate clauses.
The column on the right contains independent clauses.
Match the appropriate independent clause with the subordinate clause to create a complete sentence. The subordinate clause can go anywhere, including in the middle, of
the independent clause.
1. who is visiting from China
a. stay in your seat
2. although it isn’t dinner time yet
b. I am going this
year
3. until the game starts
c. m
y brother is
in college
4. which I bought yesterday
d. I am really
hungry
e. the blue dress
was on sale
Adjective Clauses
One type of subordinate clause is an adjective clause.
Here are a few things about adjective clauses:
• They function as adjectives in the sentence, modifying a noun or pronoun.
• They are always in the middle or at the end of the
sentence. They do not begin sentences.
• Sometimes they are essential to the meaning of the
sentence and are not set within commas, but sometimes they are additional information and, in that
case, are enclosed in commas.
• They begin with relative pronouns. Remember those
from Section 1.3? They are who, whom, whose, which,
and that.
Here are some sentences containing adjective clauses:
This is my neighbor who owns six dogs. (clause
describes neighbor)
My boss, whom I really respect, just won a national
award. (clause describes boss)
This is the book that I read last week. (clause
describes book)
Notice that the second example sets off the clause with
commas. That means the clause is nonessential and
could be left out without losing the meaning of the sentence. We don’t need that clause to identify the boss. It
is more of a “by the way.”
In the third example, the clause identifies which book
you are talking about. This is the book might not be very
clear without it. Sometimes it is difficult to determine
whether or not a clause is essential to the meaning or
not. It might depend on the context that comes before
the sentence. Sometimes it helps to read the sentence
out loud. If you tend to pause before and after the clause,
it might need a comma.
In the first example above, the clause might be essential, but it might not be. You might need to go by the
situation or previous context for this one. You might
Clauses
be identifying which neighbor you are talking about by
mentioning that it is the neighbor who has the dogs.
Or, it may be additional information if you are simply
introducing the neighbor to someone.
One thing about essential versus nonessential clauses:
If your clause is not essential and you are using commas
around it, use which for things and who for people. If
your clause is essential and you are not using commas
to set if off, use that. However, if your essential clause
describes a person, most people use who (or whom or
whose). However, it is acceptable to use that if you prefer (I don’t). Here are some examples:
I want the dress that has the blue buttons.
I want this dress, which is less expensive than the
other one. (Since you are saying this dress, we
know which dress you are talking about; the
clause is added information.)
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41
• They can be at the beginning, in the middle, or at the
end of a sentence.
• When they begin a sentence, they are followed by
a comma. When they are at the end of a sentence,
they are usually not preceded by a comma.
• They begin with the words that are called subordinating conjunctions (refer back to Section 1.8).
Here are some of the more common subordinating conjunctions: because, although, if, since, until, whenever,
wherever, before, after.
Here are some examples of sentences with adverb
clauses:
Because I got home late, I missed the TV program.
Although I got paid today, I spent all my money!
If I finish my work early enough, I can go with you.
Mary, who is my first cousin, is graduating college
this year.
It has been a week since I returned from my
vacation.
The girl that is sitting in the front row is my cousin.
(It is okay to use that here, but I would use who.)
I won’t be home until I finish the speaking tour.
Whenever I work late, I end up staying up too late.
I will follow you wherever you go.
Practice 42—
Identifying Adjective Clauses
Some of the following sentences contain adjective
clauses. Identify the clause (if the sentence has one),
and tell which word in the sentence the clause modifies.
1. The job application that I just filled out was four
pages long.
2. I don’t know where you are.
3. The pasta, which I just made, is already gone.
4. This is the book whose author I met at the meeting.
5. My professor, who is an expert on insects, is very
interesting.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Adverb Clauses
Here are a few things about adverb clauses:
• They function as adverbs in the sentence, usually
modifying a verb.
Before I pay for the trip, I need to check my
calendar.
I will pay for the trip after I check my calendar.
✎✎ Notice two things about the examples above. First,
when the clause comes at the beginning of the sentence, we have used a comma after it. However, when
the clause is at the end, we don’t use a comma before
it. All of those sentences can be flipped around and
the clauses put in the opposite place. If you say the
sentences out loud, you will probably pause where
the commas are and not pause in the sentences
where there are no commas.
The second thing to notice is that some of the subordinating conjunctions are often other parts of speech,
namely prepositions. As we said before, a word can
function as more than one part of speech (but only
one part of speech at a time), depending on its use in
the sentence. Until, since, before, and after can also be
prepositions. If they are followed by an article (sometimes) and a noun or pronoun, they are prepositions.
If they are followed by a subject and a verb, they are
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subordinating conjunctions that introduce an adverb
clause. Notice the differences:
After I check my calendar (clause)
After school (prepositional phrase)
Before I pay for the trip (clause)
Before the game (prepositional phrase)
Until I finish the speaking tour (clause)
Until last night (prepositional phase)
Since I returned from my vacation (clause)
Since last night (prepositional phrase)
Practice 43—
Identifing Adverb Clauses
Each of the following sentences contains an adverb
clause. It may also have adjective clauses. Identify only
the adverb clauses.
1. I was late for the meeting because I was in a traffic
jam.
2. If my sister, who is coming to visit, wants to go, I will
go too.
3. I haven’t heard from him since he moved away.
4. Wherever I go, my cat follows me.
5. I am going hiking, although it is raining.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Noun Clauses
Noun clauses, like nouns, function as subjects or objects
in a sentence. Here is an example where the noun clause
is the subject of the sentence:
Whoever comes to the party will get a gift. (The
clause is the subject, and will get is the verb. Note
that you can substitute a noun or pronoun for
the clause and it still makes sense (for example,
Joe will get a gift). (Note also that the clause itself
has a subject and a verb as all clauses do: The
subject is whoever, and the verb is comes. However, the clause as a whole is the subject of the
sentence, and the main verb in the sentence is
will get.)
Here is an example where the noun clause is the direct
object in the sentence.
I know who you are. (I know what? who you are.
The subject of the clause is you, and the verb is
are; the subject of the sentence itself is I, and the
verb is know.)
Here is an example where the noun clause is the object
of the preposition.
I gave the books to whoever wanted them. (The
subject of the clause is whoever, and the verb
is wanted. The entire clause is the object of the
preposition to. The subject of the entire sentence
is I, and the verb is gave.)
Clauses
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Chapter 4 Test
Clauses
Part 1—Identify each of the following as an indepen-
Part 3—Identify the noun clause in each sentence and
dent or a subordinate clause.
tell whether it is a subject or an object.
1. If I told him a story.
1. I don’t know who you are.
2. Mom tells my little brother a story every night.
2. Whoever is making that noise should stop.
3. Whoever you are.
3. I am going with whoever wants to go.
4. Because it is Friday.
5. I have been studying since yesterday.
Part 4—Fill in the blanks with an appropriate subordi-
6. After the party, I went home.
nate clause of the type in parentheses.
7. Wherever they sit.
1. ________________________ I am wearing a sweater.
(adverb)
Part 2—Each of the following sentences has either an
2. That doll, _______________________, is very expensive. (adjective)
adverb or an adjective clause. Identify the clause, and
tell which type it is.
1. Whenever I am with him, I have fun.
2. I don’t know the girl who is walking in front of us.
3. The story that I am telling you is a secret.
4. I didn’t go because I had a game that day.
5. Did you see the boy whose dog was lost?
3. __________________________ should bring a heavy
jacket. (noun)
4. You should take that vacation ___________________
(adverb)
5. The pen __________________________ belongs to
me. (adjective)
See Appendix G for the answers.
Chapter 5
Types of Sentence Structures
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Not a Sentence
You want your writing to be interesting. If all your sentences have the same structure and same length, your
writing could get boring to the reader. Knowing the
types of sentence structures you can use will allow you
to make your writing more interesting.
One of the most important things to know when you are
writing is the difference between a sentence, a fragment,
and a run on. We will discuss fragments and run ons
in the following sections. Generally, you should write
in complete sentences and avoid run-on sentences and
fragments. Run ons and fragments are grammatically
incorrect. Are there exceptions? Of course. There are
always exceptions. Many people use sentence fragments for effect (these are called minor sentences). I am
sure you can find some in this book. Fiction writers in
particular use fragments. Run ons are a different story
entirely, and they are not usually used in any way that
improves writing.
We talked about sentences in Chapter 2. In this chapter, we will look at sentences in a slightly different way.
We will talk about sentence fragments and run-on sentences. Then you will learn about the various sentence
structures, so that your writing will be interesting and
contain a wide range of sentence types. Sentences are
made up of combinations of clauses (see Chapter 4),
both subordinate and independent.
All you really need to have a sentence is a subject (noun
or pronoun) and a verb. So a sentence can have only
two words and still be a perfectly complete sentence.
This is a complete sentence: Jack runs.
Obviously, you don’t want to write in two-word sentences. However, this chapter will show you how something much longer than two words—that might look
as if it is a sentence—may not be a complete sentence.
Finally, this chapter will talk about how sentences are
put together, and the various ways you can build sentences to make your writing more interesting.
✎✎ You can actually have a sentence that contains only
one word! For example, you may tell your dog, “Sit.”
Sit is a complete sentence. It is a verb. You might
ask, “Where is the subject?” In a command there is
often an implied subject—meaning it isn’t actually
in the sentence, but is understood. The subject of a
command is always you, whether it is written there
or not.
If you are writing a story or memoir or even a memo,
you might want to use a sentence fragment. However,
if you are writing a college essay, a cover letter, a letter
asking your boss for a raise, or a book proposal to an
agent, I would stick to complete sentences!
As we already mentioned, a sentence is a complete
thought. It can be really short or really long. All it really
needs is a subject and a verb. Here are some examples
of sentences:
He ran.
He ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and
ran, and then he stopped.
Because I have no money, I cannot go to the movies.
Sentence Fragment
A sentence fragment is not a sentence, but some-
times people think it is. A fragment is not a complete
thought. Sometimes subordinate clauses are written as
sentences, but they are not. Here are some samples of
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fragments, or incomplete sentences. Do not use them
in your writing!
Because I have no money. (This is not a complete
thought; it cannot stand on its own.)
And I went with my friend. (Many people say it
is fine to begin a sentence with a FANBOYS
conjunction—refer back to Section 1.8. I personally don’t like it. I wouldn’t do it in formal writing; however, if you must, do it sparingly, and in
informal writing.)
If I try really hard. (This is another subordinate
clause that cannot stand on its own.)
The person whom I met and told me that she knew
a woman who lived across the street from me.
(This may sound like a sentence, but read it again.
It’s long, but it is not a complete thought. What
about the person? The fragment doesn’t tell us.)
Practice 44—
Identifying and Rewriting Sentence Fragments
Identify each of the following as a complete sentence
or a sentence fragment. Then, make the fragments into
complete sentences by adding words.
1. Since the work isn’t done and we need to leave, but
we can come back tomorrow.
2. He fell.
3. Who she is, I don’t know.
1. Put a period between them, and start the second sentence with a capital letter.
I have a new job. It pays more than my old job.
2. Put a semicolon between them if the two sentences are closely related. (Do not capitalize the
beginning of the second sentence.)
I have a new job; it pays more than my old job.
3. Add a FANBOYS conjunction (for, and, nor, but,
or, yet, so) after the comma.
I have a new job, and it pays more than my old job.
If the two sentences are very short, you can omit the
comma:
I work and I sleep.
✎✎ Sometimes, but not too often, a colon is used
between two sentences. I recommend you avoid
doing this to eliminate the chance of using a colon
when it really isn’t appropriate. The colon can separate two sentences when the second sentence is an
explanation of the first. However, any one of the
three solutions above will also work in that case. If
you do decide to use a colon, do not capitalize the
second sentence. Here is an example:
She is looking for a new job: her last job did not
work out.
Practice 45—
Identifying and Correcting Run Ons
5. Because your mother told you to go.
Some of the following “sentences” are actually run ons.
Others are fine as they are. Identify the run ons, and fix
them with punctuation and/or conjunctions.
See Appendix G for the answers.
1. I ate pizza, my brother ate a hamburger.
Run-on Sentences
2. The weather was great, the scenery was beautiful,
the company was exciting, and the cost was reasonable; what a great vacation!
4. Where he is calling from.
A run on contains more than one complete sentence
without proper punctuation. Here is an example of a
run on:
I have a new job, it pays more than my old job.
You cannot separate two complete thoughts with just
a comma. If you do, you have a run-on sentence (often
called a comma splice.)
Two complete thoughts (sentences) must be separated
in one of these three ways:
3. I took the train, then I had to take two buses to get
there.
4. Sweep the floor, and then take out the trash.
5. She asked what kind of dog he wanted, however, he
was allergic to dogs, so he couldn’t have one.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Types of Sentence Structures 2
5.3. Types of Sentence Structures
All sentences are made up of one or more clauses.
Remember that a clause is a group of words that has a
subject and a verb. Some clauses are complete sentences
and can stand on their own. Other clauses cannot stand
on their own; they are not complete thoughts, and they
must be added to an independent clause, which is a
complete thought. By combining independent and subordinate clauses, we are able to create the four sentence
structures. Therefore, by being familiar with the different types of clauses, you can form more interesting and
varying sentences. What about phrases? Clauses can
have any number of different types of phrases in them.
Simple Sentence
A simple sentence is made up of one independent
clause. That doesn’t mean that the sentence looks short
or simple. There might be several phrases in that one
clause. Here are some sample simple sentences (say that
three times fast!):
Jack and Jill went up the hill. This sentence is
pretty simple. It contains a compound subject
(Jack and Jill), a verb (went), and a prepositional
phrase (up the hill).
Picking blueberries, Jack and Jill decided to climb
to the top and to pick some flowers, pink roses.
This sentence may look complicated, but it is still
a simple sentence, containing only one clause.
Here is what it includes:
• picking blueberries—participial phrase
• Jack and Jill—compound subject
• decided—verb
• to climb and to pick- infinitives
• to the top—prepositional phrase
• pink roses—appositive
Compound Sentence
A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses (in other words, sentences) joined by a
FANBOYS conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so)
or a semicolon. Here are some compound sentences:
47
I ate dinner, and I went to bed. Notice that there
is an independent clause before the conjunction (and) and another independent clause after
the and.
Of course, the independent clauses can be more complicated than these. And yes, there can be more than
two independent clauses in a compound sentence:
I ate dinner, I went to bed, and I forgot to set the
alarm clock.
✎✎ Note that you need complete sentences for the sentence to be compound. The sentence below, very
similar to the one above, is just a simple sentence
with a compound verb. There is only one subject (I).
The two clauses after the first one have no subjects:
I ate dinner, went to bed, and forgot to set the
alarm clock.
Practice 46—
Simple and Compound Sentences
Identify each of the following sentences as either simple
or compound. Remember that a compound sentence
has two (or more) independent clauses. A simple sentence can have a compound subject, compound verb,
or compound object; that doesn’t make it a compound
sentence.
1. The dog eats every morning, but the cat eats every
night.
2. Jane and her brother went to France, Italy, and Spain
on their vacation.
3. I’ll clean the kitchen; you clean the bathroom.
4. I don’t know whether I want to work at the local
company or the larger company.
5. My brother and sister are having dinner together
and then driving me to college.
6. Is that a boy or a girl?
See Appendix G for the answers.
Complex Sentence
A complex sentence contains an independent clause
(complete sentence) and one or more subordinate
(adverb, adjective, or noun) clauses. So it is a combination of the types of clauses. Remember that you must
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have an independent clause in a sentence. You could
string together 300 subordinate clauses and you still
wouldn’t have a complete sentence.
Practice 47—
Complex Sentences
Here are two complex sentences with adverb subordinate clauses:
Add a subordinate clause in these sentences to make
them complex sentences. Add the type of clause that is
in parentheses.
Because I missed the bus, I had to walk three
miles. (The words before the comma make up a
1. My pen, ____________________________________,
is out of ink. (adjective)
subordinate clause; the words after the comma
are a complete sentence, or independent clause.)
I walked three miles before I saw the bus. (This
sentence, unlike the previous example, begins
with the independent clause and ends with the
adverb clause. Both of these sentences could be
flipped around, and they would be saying the
same thing. Remember that when you begin the
sentence with the subordinate clause, you generally follow the clause with a comma. When you
end the sentence with the subordinate clause,
there is usually no comma before it.
Here are two complex sentences with adjective subordinate clauses:
2. ____________________________________, I burned
the cake. (adverb)
3. I have met the president of the company, __________.
(adjective)
4. My report is late ______________________________.
(adverb)
5. I want ______________________________________.
(noun: tough one!)
See Appendix G for the answers.
Compound-Complex Sentence
My mother, who was born in Ireland, lived in England and Scotland before she moved to the United
States. (The adjective clause is in the middle of
If you mix a compound sentence with a complex sentence, you get a compound-complex sentence, which is
a little bit of each. A compound-complex sentence has
more than one independent clause (like a compound
sentence), and at least one subordinate clause (like a
complex sentence). Here is an example of a compound-­
complex sentence:
This is the book that I read last week. (People are
usually referred to as who and never as which.
Things are referred to as which for nonessential
clauses [set off with commas] and that for essen-
I am learning about UFOs, which are very interesting, and I am doing a research paper about
aliens. (The compound sentence is I am learning
about UFOs, and I am doing a research paper
about aliens. The subordinate clause is which are
very interesting.)
the sentence here, and the independent clause
surrounds it: My mother lived in England and
Scotland before she moved to the United States.)
tial clauses [no commas]).
And here are two complex sentences with more than
one subordinate clause:
The book that I read last week is the one that I
bought when we were at the airport. (If you leave
out the essential adjective clauses you have The
book is the one. Easy to see why you need those
clauses!)
Since I bought a new sofa, I won’t buy those red
leather chairs, which I really don’t need. (The sen-
tence begins with an adverb clause and ends with
an adjective clause.)
Practice 48—
Identifying Sentence Structures
Identify each of the following sentences as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.
1. He didn’t want any vegetables or rice with dinner.
2. Do you want the pasta, or would you prefer the
steak?
3. In Paris last year we saw many attractions, including
the Eiffel Tower.
Types of Sentence Structures 2
4. After the game on Thursday, we are going to the
movies.
5. After you go to the game on Thursday, come to dinner with us.
6. The book that is on the shelf is yours, and you can
take it whenever you want it.
7. Although the cookies were burned, they tasted good.
8. Jamie and Ralph called me last night and then came
over for a visit.
See Appendix G for the answers.
5.4. A Variety of Sentence Patterns
We learn about different types of phrases and clauses so
that we can use them in our writing. Simple sentences
that always start with a subject and verb can get very
boring. Check out this paragraph:
My friends and I went to the concert last night. We
really enjoyed the music. We went out for dinner after
the concert. I had the best pizza I have ever eaten! My
friends shared a huge plate of appetizers. The waiter
was very friendly. The service was great. I came home
after midnight and was really tired when I had to get
up for work this morning.
That paragraph sounds a little choppy, doesn’t it? All the
sentences begin with a subject and a verb, and most of
the sentences are simple. How about this rewrite?
My friends and I went to the concert last night. To say
we enjoyed the music is an understatement! After the
concert, we went out for dinner. I had the best pizza
I had ever eaten, and my friends shared a huge plate
of appetizers. Because the waiter was so friendly and
the service was so great, we left a big tip! However,
coming home after midnight made it really difficult to
get up for work this morning.
Better? It is always better to use a variety of sentence types
and structures. Besides starting a sentence with the subject, you can start a sentence with a phrase or clause:
49
Last night my friends and I went to a movie. (prepo-
sitional phrase)
Going to the movies is a favorite pastime for me.
(gerundial phrase)
Watching movies, I escape into another world. (par-
ticipial phrase)
To be able to go to the Academy Awards would be a
dream come true! (infinitives)
Because I love movies so much, I try to see one at
least once a week. (adverb clause)
Of course, it isn’t just how you start the sentences. You
can vary sentences in other ways. You can use adjective
clauses (the ones that begin with that, which or who),
compound sentences, and appositives to vary your sentences even more.
Practice 49—
Writing Sentences with Different Structures
Combine the following sentences into one sentence using
the structure in parentheses. The first one is an example.
1. Fred is my best friend. He is a great student. (Use an
adjective clause.)
Fred, who is a great student, is my best friend.
OR
Fred, who is my best friend, is a great student.
2. I couldn’t stay until the end. The movie was very
long. (Start the sentence with an adverb clause.)
3. I went to visit my cousins in Nevada. I went last weekend. (Start the sentence with a prepositional phrase.)
4. I just saw a cute bunny. I was running around the
track. (Start the sentence with a participial phrase.)
5. I want to become a doctor. It is my most important
goal. (Start the sentence with a gerund.)
6. I would love to go to Paris. It is my greatest dream.
(Start the sentence with an infinitive.)
See Appendix G for the answers.
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Chapter 5 Test
Types of Sentence Structures
Part 1—Identify each sentence as simple, compound,
complex, or compound-complex.
1. Whenever I can’t find my keys, I look in my
refrigerator!
2. Over the mountain and through the woods, Benny
and Mikey ran and ran.
3. I lost my keys because I was in such a hurry.
4. I think I have lost my keys; do you know where they
might be?
5. My keys, which are very important to me, are lost,
and no one will help me look for them.
Part 2—Add an adjective clause to each sentence to
make it a complex sentence.
1. This dress, __________________________________,
is old.
2. My mother, _________________________________,
has a part in a play.
3. I didn’t know this was a game ___________________.
Part 3—Add an adverb clause to each sentence to make
it a complex sentence.
1. ______________________________, I won’t eat your
cooking!
2. Don’t tell me a secret ___________________________.
3. _____________________________, I got a great job!
Part 4—Add a noun clause to each sentence to make it
a complex sentence.
4. I don’t know ________________________________.
5. ______________________________ I will believe it.
Part 5—Add the requested items to each sentence.
1. __________________________ I baked a cake. (Start
sentence with a prepositional phrase.)
2. ___________________________________, I saw a
lion. (Start the sentence with a participle or participial phrase.)
3. __________________________________ I exercise
every day. (Start the sentence with an infinitive.)
4. This pizza, __________________________________,
is the best pizza I have ever eaten! (Add an adjective
clause.)
See Appendix G for the answers.
Chapter 6
Special Issues with Pronouns
6.1. Introduction
Of all the parts of speech, pronouns probably cause the
most trouble (with verbs coming in a close second.)
Here are some of those pesky pronoun problems, which
you have probably run across yourself.
Do I use I or me here?
Do I use he or him? She or her?
Is it okay to use myself here?
What’s the difference between who and whom,
anyway?
What’s this his or her thing? Can’t I use say they? Or
him/her?
Yes. These are all pronoun problems. But we will clear it
all up in this chapter.
6.2. Personal Pronoun Problem:
Cases—Is It I or Me?
The choice of whether to use I or me is one of the most
common issues in grammar, and the choice is often
made incorrectly. The I or me issue is actually the same
problem as the choice between who and whom, or he
and him. Here are some sentences with the correct use
of these pronouns:
To whom did you give those tickets.
He gave the tickets to him and me.
He and I went shopping yesterday.
Whom did you bring with you?
She brought the pizza to him and us.
He gave her and me some candy.
So how can you figure out which pronoun to use? We
are dealing with an issue of pronoun forms, or cases, as
they are called. Many languages in addition to English
have cases. In English there are three cases: nominative, objective, and possessive. Let’s look at the different
forms of pronouns for these three cases.
Nominative
Objective
Possessive
me
my, mine
you
your, yours
Singular:
(1st person)
I
(2nd person) you
(3rd person) he, she, it him, her, it his, her, hers, its
Plural:
(1st person)
we
us
our, ours
(2nd person) you
you
your, yours
(3rd person) they
them
their, theirs
who
whom
whose
Who is not really a personal pronoun, but it does have
cases to worry about, so we will include it here. And we
aren’t going to worry about possessive case here.
You may already be able to figure out where we are
going. Simply put, you use the nominative form of the
pronoun for sentence subjects. You use the objective
form for direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of
prepositions. Refer back to Sections 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4 for
more information about subjects and objects. It is as
simple as that. All you have to do is figure out whether
your pronoun is a subject or an object.
Let’s look at the sentences we looked at above—the
ones that were written correctly.
But before we continue, here are a couple of handy tools
you can use to figure this all out.
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1. For who and whom, sometimes you can flip the sentence around, answer it if it is a question, or somehow try to substitute he or him for who or whom. If
you would use him in the sentence, then whom is
correct. Alternatively, if you would use he, you need
to use who.
2. If there are two pronouns, as in a few of the sentences below, or if there is a person’s name and a
pronoun, here is what you do: Take one name or
pronoun out and try them separately. Whatever
pronoun you would use separately, you would use
when you put the other name or pronoun back in.
To whom did you give those tickets? Answer the
question: I gave the tickets to him. Therefore, you
need to use whom because it is the same case as
him: objective. Looking at it grammatically, to whom
is a prepositional phrase where whom is the object of
the preposition to, so you know you will use whom,
the objective case.
He gave the tickets to Judy and me. Simply follow
tool #2 above. Take out Judy: He gave the tickets to
me. You would never say He gave the tickets to I, so
you wouldn’t say He gave the tickets to Judy and I.
Me is the object of the preposition to.
He and I went shopping yesterday. Use tool #2. He
went shopping yesterday. I went shopping yesterday. So He and I went shopping yesterday. He
and I are the subjects of the sentence, so we use the
nominative case.
Whom did you bring with you? Back to tool #1.
Answer the question, substituting he or him for
whom. I brought him with me. You used him, so
whom is correct. They are both in the objective case.
If you turn the sentence around and make it a statement instead of a question, you can see that whom
is the direct object of the verb bring. (You did bring
whom with you.)
She brought the pizza to him and us. Use tool #2
and take out one pronoun and then the other one.
She brought the pizza to him. She brought the
pizza to us. Him and us are objects of the preposition to.
He gave her and me some candy. Again, take out
one pronoun and then the other. He gave her some
candy. He gave me some candy. So, He gave
her and me some candy. Her and me are indirect
objects. Refer back to Section 2.4 for more information about indirect objects.
✎✎ If who/whom comes after the words by, with, for, to,
between, from (and any other preposition) use whom:
To whom, from whom, with whom, by whom, etc.
Practice 50—
Using the Correct Pronoun Case
Choose the correct answer for each of the following
sentences.
1. Jim and _____ (I, me) are marching in the parade on
Saturday.
2. _____ (We, Us) kids are staying home by ourselves.
3. Give the notes you took to Sally and ______ (I, me).
4. For _______ (who, whom) are you painting the
picture?
5. Between you and _____ (I, me), I think she will win
the award.
6. Please tell a story to ______ (we, us) students.
7. _______ (He, Him) and his friends are on the team.
8. Listen to ____________ (he and I, him and me) when
we talk to you!
9. ______ (Who, Whom) are you, anyway?
10. I remember that she is the girl _____________ (who,
whom) I dated years ago.
See Appendix G for the answers.
6.3. Demonstrative Pronouns and
Adjectives: This, That, These, Those
We are actually going to talk about these four words
as demonstrative adjectives here, not demonstrative
pronouns.
These demonstrative words are not difficult to use,
and you will rarely run into a problem with them. Just
remember that this and that are singular, and these and
those are plural. If you use them with a noun, make
sure that you use singular with singular, and plural with
plural:
Special Issues with Pronouns
These kind of insects are dangerous. Incorrect.
These is plural, and kind is singular.
This kind of insect is dangerous, or These kinds
of insects are dangerous. (Also notice that with
the singular words, we used the singular verb
is, and with the plural words, we used the plural
verb are.)
✎✎ Just for your information: When the demonstrative
is directly before a noun, it is an adjective. When
it is not describing a noun, it is a pronoun:
This is mine. (pronoun)
This car is mine. (adjective)
Practice 51—
Using Demonstratives Correctly
Fill in the blanks with the correct demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
1. ___________ (This, these) is the type of apples I like.
2. ___________ (This, These) kinds of caterpillars are
my favorites.
Do not use myself unless the subject of the sentence
is I.
Do not use yourself unless the subject of the sentence is you.
Do not use herself unless the subject of the sentence
is she.
Do not use himself unless the subject of the sentence is he.
Do not use yourself or yourselves unless the subject
is you.
Do not use itself unless the subject of the sentence
is it.
Do not use ourselves unless the subject of the sentence is we.
Do not use these the pronouns ending in -self as the
subject of your sentence.
Here are some examples of correct and incorrect uses:
Correct:
I made that quilt myself. (subject is I)
4. ___________ (This, That) book over there is a collector’s item.
Did you do that by yourself? (subject is you)
See Appendix G for the answers.
6.4. Reflexive Pronouns:
Using the -self Words Correctly
The pronoun myself is often used incorrectly, possibly
because of the confusion between I and me. However,
myself has a different use than either I or me. Less
often, the other pronouns ending in -self or -selves are
used when the nominative or objective case should be
used instead. There is a simple rule about using these
pronouns:
myself, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself,
themselves, ourselves
✎✎ Please note that there are no such words as theirselves, hisself, or ourself.
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Here is the rule for using the reflexive pronouns:
3. I don’t like ___________ (that, those) type of dog.
5. ___________ (This, That) kitten that I am holding is
very soft!
2
We should make dinner ourselves. (subject is we)
Incorrect:
My friends and myself are getting together tomorrow.
(Don’t use myself as a subject. Use I here.)
He told Joe and myself about the plan. (Don’t use
myself as an object. Use me.)
They are going with my brothers and ourselves.
(Don’t use ourselves as an object. Use us.)
The correct way to write or say the sentences above:
My friends and I are getting together tomorrow.
He told Joe and me about the plan.
They are going with my brothers and us.
✎✎ You can use these pronouns as intensive pronouns
when they don’t match the subject:
I saw Mary herself at the meeting.
It was Jim himself in the movie!
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Practice 52—
Using -self Pronouns
Mark these sentences as correct or incorrect. Correct
the incorrect sentences.
1. He and myself are going camping.
2. I made the apple pie myself.
3. What do you think of yourself now that you have
accomplished the big task?
4. Give it to Joe and myself.
5. She told herself that she could do it.
6. That is the car that my husband and myself just
bought.
7. She herself said that she wasn’t coming with us.
See Appendix G for the answers.
6.5. Interrogative Pronoun Issues
As we discussed in Section 1.3, there are five interrogative pronouns, or pronouns we use to ask questions.
They are
who
whom
whose
which
what
✎✎ When we use a linking verb, such as are, we use the
nominative case, not the objective. We will say more
about this in Section 11.3.
You can also try to figure out if who/whom is the subject
or an object in the sentence. If you can figure that out,
you will know whether to use who (subject) or whom
(object). It isn’t that difficult to figure it out in most
cases: Find the verb and find the subject of the verb. If
there is more than one verb, find the subject of all the
verbs. If who/whom is not a subject of any of the verbs,
it must be an object, so use whom.
Practice 53—
Who and Whom as Interrogative Pronouns
Choose the correct answer for each interrogative
sentence.
1. (Who, Whom) are you?
2. (Who, Whom) are you taking with you?
3. (Who, Whom) did you appoint to the job?
4. To (who, whom) did you give the money?
5. (Who, Whom) is going to the movies with you.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Whose or Who’s?
The other problem you might have with interrogative
pronouns is deciding whether to use whose or who’s.
These pronouns are not difficult to use—until we get to
who and whom! However, we talked about this earlier
in this chapter when we learned about pronoun cases.
Whose is possessive. The possessive pronouns do not
have apostrophes: its, ours, yours, their, whose.
In a question, answer the question, substituting he or
him for who or whom. If you used he, you should use
who in your question. If you used him, you should use
whom in your question. Here are some examples:
so on.
Who is coming? (He is coming. Who is correct.)
With whom are you going? (I am going with him.
Whom is correct.)
Whom are you talking about? (You are talking
about him. Whom is correct.)
Who are you? (Tricky one. You are he? You are
him? Actually it is You are he.)
Who’s is a contraction meaning who is. Contractions
always have apostrophes: can’t, I’m, it’s, he’s, who’s, and
If you mean who is, use who’s; otherwise, use whose.
Here are some examples of the two words used correctly:
Whose book is this? (Implies ownership, so use
whose.)
Who’s going with you? (Who is going with you, so
use who’s.)
Do you know whose jacket this is?
Do you know who’s going with us?
Special Issues with Pronouns
Practice 54—
Whose and Who’s
Fill in each blank with either whose or who’s.
1. ________________ going to the party with you?
2. _________________ car is that?
3. I don’t know ______________ winning the award.
4. Is that the friend ________________ sister is in the
play?
5. I can’t tell ___________________ who!
See Appendix G for the answers.
6.6. Relative Pronouns: Using Who,
Which, and That Correctly
We talked about relative pronouns in Section 1.3 and
then again when we talked about clauses in Section 4.3.
Relative pronouns are the pronouns that begin adjective
clauses. There are five relative pronouns: who, whom,
whose, which, and that. Here is an example of each of
them used correctly in an adjective clause:
I am the new employee who started yesterday.
That is the girl whom he took to the dance.
I live next to the woman whose brother is your boss.
This dress, which is on sale, is too short.
The dress that is on the sale rack is not my style.
Whose probably won’t cause you any problems. It is a
possessive, as we already learned (as opposed to who’s,
which is a contraction meaning who is). And we already
discussed the difference between who and whom earlier
in this chapter.
That leaves us with which and that. Which and that are
used for anything that is nonhuman (yes, including animals), while who is used for people.
The main issue with which and that is which one of them
to use in a particular sentence. Looking at the examples above, you will see that the clause using which is
enclosed in commas; the clause beginning with that
does not have commas around it.
That is generally the way it is. If you use which, use commas around your clause (where you would likely pause
if saying it aloud). If you use that, no commas are used.
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Okay, that is easy enough. But, you ask, when do I use
which and when do I use that? And, if I use who, are
there commas around the clause or not?
Putting commas around something means you could
take it out without losing the meaning of the sentence.
It is additional information, and such a cause is called
nonessential or nonrestrictive. If you do not put commas
around a clause, the information in the clause is necessary for the sentence and is called essential or restrictive.
It can sometimes be difficult to determine if a clause is
essential or not. When using commas in general, it is
sometimes said that you put commas where you would
pause if saying the sentence aloud. Actually, this is not a
bad “rule.” It is probably correct a great deal of the time.
And if you would pause around your clause, it may very
well be additional information that requires a comma.
Let’s look at some examples:
Women who are smart exercise.
Women, who are smart, exercise.
The first sentence identifies the women who exercise:
women who are smart. The sentence implies that if you
are a smart woman, you exercise.
The second sentence says that women exercise, and that
women are also smart. It doesn’t limit the smart women
to those who exercise. This sentence implies that women
exercise, and by the way, women are smart too!
Let’s look at more examples of both essential and nonessential clauses:
The girl who is sitting in front of me is my cousin.
(This essential clause is identifying which girl.)
Jill Dean, who is on a famous TV show, is the one
in the red gown. (This nonessential clause doesn’t
identify, but instead adds information.)
They say that yellow, which is my favorite color, indicates a sunny personality. (We know what yellow is,
so the nonessential clause is added information.)
The dog that is barking the loudest is mine! (This
essential clause identifies which dog we are talking about.)
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The dog, which we adopted from the shelter last
year, is a Pomeranian. (This clause could be added
information.)
The dog that we adopted from the shelter last year
is a Pomeranian. (The clause could also identify
the dog.)
In the last pair of sentences, you could go either way,
depending on the context of the rest of the conversation
or text. Sometimes it is a little tricky to decide if a clause
is essential or nonessential.
Practice 55—
Essential Versus Nonessential Clauses
Fill in the blanks and put in any necessary commas in
the following sentences.
1. He is the man (which, who) lost his glasses.
2. My favorite dessert is a fresh-baked cookie (which,
that) is soft.
3. That teacher (who, that, which) gave me a D is really
mean.
4. This is the book (which, that) I have been telling you
about.
5. Maine (that, which) is a state on the East Coast is
very beautiful.
6. The dog (that, which, who) is in the yard doesn’t live
here.
7. You (that, who) doesn’t know the multiplication
tables shouldn’t criticize my spelling!
8. That blue dress in my closet (which, that) I bought
on sale doesn’t fit.
See Appendix G for the answers.
6.7. Indefinite Pronouns:
Singular or Plural?
There are many indefinite pronouns. Here are some of
them:
anyone, anything, anybody, everyone, everything,
everybody, no one, nothing, nobody, someone,
something, somebody, one, each, either, both,
several, neither, many, all, none, any, every
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
All of the indefinite pronouns that end in -one, -thing,
and -body are singular. That means you use a singular
verb with them, and if there is another pronoun in the
sentence that refers back to one of them, you should use
a singular pronoun because everything needs to agree.
Here are some examples:
Everyone is going. (Everyone and is are both
singular.)
Somebody is calling you.
Is anybody there?
Everybody on the girls’ basketball team needs her
uniform to practice.
Here is the problem:
Everybody who is going needs to bring his or her
ticket.
That sentence is correct. However, most people say their
instead of his or her. If you know everybody refers to girls
only (as in the example about the girls’ basketball team),
you can use her. If everybody refers to boys only, you
can use him. However, what if everybody refers to both
boys and girls, or men and women? Or what if you don’t
know? Do you have to use his or her?
No, you don’t. But you can, and it is completely grammatically correct, even though having to use three
words can be a little awkward. Here are some options:
Do Not Take These Options:
Do not use him if you could be referring to women too.
Do not use her if you could be referring to men too.
Do not alternate, using her and then using him the next
time.
Do not use him/her.
Do not use him (her).
What About This Option?
Some people now use their as a singular. While some
style guides, teachers, etc., might think this is fine, others will not. Here is an example:
Everybody who is coming needs to bring their
passport.
Special Issues with Pronouns
Is it okay? Possibly. Do I like it? No. Would I use it? I
would use it in conversation, but I would not use it in a
speech, a business letter, a cover letter, or a college essay.
I would stick to him or her. However, the best option is
to rewrite the sentence to avoid the issue entirely. And
that is generally easy to do:
Everybody who is coming needs to bring a passport.
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57
3. Neither my brother nor my cousin (is, are) bringing
a date.
4. Can anybody in class tie (his or her, their) shoes?
5. Neither boy is eating (his, their) dinner with us.
6. Everyone (is, are) invited to the party.
7. In our office nobody brings (his or her, their) lunch.
All those who are coming need to bring passports.
8. Someone on the boys’ team left (his, their) shoes on
the field.
All travelers need to bring passports.
See Appendix G for the answers.
There are a number of ways to rewrite. Problem solved!
Some other indefinite pronouns are also singular and
take singular verbs:
each, every, either, neither, one, another, much
Each of us is going.
Every volunteer is bringing his or her own lunch. (or
their or rewrite to just bringing lunch.)
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
Here are the plural indefinite pronouns that take plural
verbs:
both, few, many, others, and several (easy to
remember because they sound plural)
Here are some examples:
Is either of you coming with me?
Both of us are coming.
Neither one of us is going.
Few are chosen.
One of us is going.
Many are attending the wedding.
Another is coming with us.
Others are coming too.
Much is said about unimportant things!
Several of us play soccer.
We keep talking about singular verbs. What is a singular
verb anyway? Just like nouns, verbs have singular and
plural forms. We generally form the plural of a noun
by adding an s. Verbs, on the other hand, have an s in
the singular form. To figure out the singular and plural
forms of a verb, use the verb with he and they. The verb
that sounds right with he is the singular form of the
verb, while the verb that sounds right with they is the
plural form of the verb: he jumps (singular verb); they
jump (plural verb).
✎✎ Note that some of the indefinite pronouns can also
be used as adjectives. Here are a few of them:
Practice 56—
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns That Can Be Either
Singular or Plural
Fill in the blanks with the correct answer. All of the
indefinite pronouns are singular.
To complicate matters a little more, some of the indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural, depending on the noun that they refer to, which is usually in a
prepositional phrase that comes right after the pronoun:
1. Everybody should know (his or her, their) buddy’s
name.
2. Either Jane or Mary can bring (her, their) computer.
Neither dog is barking.
Another chance will come.
Both people are wearing red.
Several cats live here.
Using the pronoun as an adjective does not affect
whether it is singular or plural.
all, any, more, most, some, none
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All of the pie is gone. (singular)/All of the guests
are here. (plural)
Is any of the pie left? (singular)/Are any of the
pieces left? (plural)
More of the book is done. (singular)/More of the
pages are done. (plural)
Most of the cake is gone. (singular)/Most of the
pieces are gone. (plural)
Some of the dress is blue (singular)/Some of us
are friends. (plural)
None of the pizza was eaten (singular)/None of
the houses are occupied. (plural)
Practice 57—
Indefinite Pronouns
Fill in the blanks with the correct word.
1. All of the pie (is, are) gone.
2. Most of the pieces (is, are) gone.
3. Several of us (is, are) going.
4. Everyone at the girls’ school took (her, their) college
entrance tests.
5. Either pizza or spaghetti (is, are) fine with me.
6. Neither of the boys (is, are) getting on the bus.
7. Everyone should hand in (his or her, his/her, his,
their) report on time.
8. Both dogs and cats (is, are) my favorite pets.
See Appendix G for the answers.
6.8. Unclear Antecedents
The job of a pronoun is to stand in for a noun, or sometimes another pronoun:
Joe brought his lunch. (Joe is the antecedent of the
pronoun his.)
They brought their lunches to the park. (They is the
antecedent of the pronoun their.)
In those two examples, it is easy to see what the antecedent is. However, sometimes when we write we might
use a noun or pronoun with an unclear antecedent,
making the writing really difficult to understand.
Sometimes the unclear antecedent will be in a previous
sentence, and other times the unclear antecedent will
be in the same sentence. Here are some examples.
Joe and Mike went for a hike in the woods near his
aunt’s house. (We can’t tell whose aunt we are
talking about, Joe’s or Mike’s.)
People were saying mean things behind Mike’s back,
and Joe was agreeing with them. This hurt his feelings. (Here, we can’t really tell what this is refer-
ring to. What exactly caused hurt feelings? Mean
things or the fact that Joe was agreeing. Or both?
And whose feelings are hurt? Joe’s or Mike’s?)
Be careful that your writing is clear with regard to your
pronouns. Don’t leave any question in the reader’s mind
about whom or what you are talking. Some of the most
common pronouns that tend to be unclear are it, this,
and which, so be careful with them.
Special Issues with Pronouns
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Chapter 6 Test
Special Issues with Pronouns
Part 1—Choose the correct pronoun for each sentence.
You may also need to add punctuation.
15. Neither of the boys talked to (his, their) parents yet.
16. He told (me, myself ) about his family.
1. (Who’s, Whose) jacket is this?
17. Rob and (me, I, myself ) are the finalists for the award.
2. I remember the girl (who, whom) I invited to my
first dance.
18. Do you think she knows (who’s, whose) going to
win?
3. Give the directions to Jim and (me, I, myself ).
19. I have a hat (which, that) has a pink feather on top!
4. (We, Us) computer programmers are attending the
big conference.
20. My grade on this paper is C (which, that) is not as
good as my usual A.
5. Anyone who is going on the trip needs to bring (his,
his or her, their) passport.
6. I like (this, these) kind of cookies better than the
other ones.
7. Neither Jenny nor Jane has (her, their) book.
8. To (who, whom) did you give your ticket?
9. My friends and (I, me) work in the same department.
10. Don’t make my friends and (I, me) angry!
11. I think they will separate (we, us) friends when they
assign classes.
12. All of the kids have (his or her, their) hoods up in
the rain.
13. Do you know (who, whom) has been invited?
14. (Who, Whom) did you say was coming with you?
Part 2—Rewrite the following sentences to make the
pronoun clear.
1. Beth saw Maggie as she drove by the park.
2. I ate cake, cookies, and ice cream before dinner,
which made me happy.
3. Bob and Joe were hiking up the mountain when he
fell and broke his leg.
4. Mother was yelling at my sister when she started to
cry.
5. The homework was due yesterday, and the report
was due today, but I didn’t know this.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Chapter 7
Special Issues with Verbs
7.1. Introduction
Verbs have more “variety” than the other parts of
speech. While a noun is a noun is a noun, a verb has
tense, voice, mood, and some forms that can be perplexing. Remember that verbs are either action words
or “state of being” words. The most common “state of
being” verb is the verb to be (I am, you are, he/she/it is,
etc.). State of being verbs are also called linking verbs. In
this chapter, we will talk about tense, voice, mood, and
the other qualities of verbs.
7.2. Tense
We talked about tense in Chapter 1, but let’s review.
Verb tense refers to time. Since verbs are primarily
action words, tense refers to when something was done.
Common tenses include present tense (happening
now), past tense (already happened), and future tense
(will happen). However, it isn’t quite that simple: there
are actually 12 tenses in the English language. There are
six main tenses and each of them has a matching tense
called the progressive.
The six main tenses can be put on a timeline:
Past Perfect è Past è Present Perfect è Present è
Future Perfect è Future
Let’s see how they are each used:
Past Perfect: Used for something that happened in the
past before something else that also happened in
the past. I had stopped to buy coffee before I arrived at
work. (Use of past perfect and then past tense.)
Future: Used for something that will happen in the
future. I will walk to work tomorrow.
Future Perfect: Used for something that will happen
in the future before something else in the future. I will
have walked to work by the time you get there in your
car.
Each of these six tenses has a matching tense called progressive, which is simply the form with an -ing at the
end.
Here are the 12 tense forms, using the verb play.
Present: I play (no helping verbs)/ Progressive: I am
playing
Past: I played (no helping verbs)/ Progressive: I was
playing (was or were are used as helping verbs)
Present Perfect: I have played (uses have or has as a
helping verb)/Progressive: I have been playing
Past Perfect: I had played (uses helping verb had)/Progressive: I had been playing
Future: I will play (uses will as a helping verb)/Progressive: I will be playing
Present Tense: Used for something happening now.
I walk to work.
Future Perfect: I will have played (uses will have as helping verbs)/Progressive: I will have been playing
Present Perfect: Used for something that happened in
the past and may still be happening. I have walked to
work every day this week.
Practice 58—
Tenses
Past Tense: Used for something that happened already.
I walked to work this morning.
Change the verb tense in the following sentences to the
tense in parentheses.
1. I eat dinner at six. (future)
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2. I danced in New York. (present perfect)
3. I will be going to Paris next year. (present progressive)
Mary told me that she had gone to see that movie
last week.
4. I always went to school with my sister. (past perfect)
See Appendix G for the answers.
Practice 59—
Using Correct Tenses
Tense Trouble
Correct any incorrect verb tenses in these sentences.
Some are correct.
5. I have worked here for ten years. (future perfect)
Some of the tenses can cause problems. For example,
if you are talking about something that happened in a
book you read or a movie you saw, you should use the
present tense, rather than the past tense. You may have
seen or read it in the past, but it still exists.
In this book, the main character is looking for his real
mother. He has not seen her in 20 years, since she
gave him up for adoption. He finally meets her and
they begin to establish a mother/son relationship.
In the above example, he is looking for his mother and
he meets her, so those are present tense. However, she
gave him up for adoption in the past, and he saw her
in the past, even in the story, so we use past tenses for
those verbs.
However, if you are talking about something you did
last week, do not use present tense:
Wrong: I go to the movies last week and I see my cousin,
who I haven’t seen in a long time. We decide to have
dinner together, and then I go home.
Right: I went to the movies last week, and I saw my
cousin, whom I haven’t seen in a long time. We decided
to have dinner together, and after dinner I went home.
Using the Past Perfect
If you are talking about two things that happened in
the past, but one of them clearly happened before the
other, you need to use different tenses for the verbs. For
example:
Mary told me that she went to see that movie last
week.
Both verbs are in the past tense. However, Mary went to
the movies before she told you about it. You need to use
the past perfect for the earlier event. The correct way to
write or say this sentence is
1. I went there every year since I was a child.
2. I went there before I was five years old.
3. I will have been working here five years by next year.
4. In the book, Mary was looking for her long lost sister.
5. I was sitting in the movie theater and suddenly I see
my cousin!
See Appendix G for the answers.
7.3. Irregular Verb Forms
What do we mean by verb forms? Well, let’s look at the
verb play, which we used in Section 7.2. If we want to
use the verb play in the past tense, what do we do? We
add an -ed to the end to make played. Since most verbs
add -ed to make the past tense, we call those verbs regular verbs. Here are some regular verbs:
kick, want, walk, talk, show, pick, cook, pass, weigh
Verbs with more than one syllable that end in y usually
change the y to i and then add the -ed. We can still call
those regular verbs. Some examples are study (studied),
and reply (replied).
Verbs that already end in e just add -d. They are also
considered regular verbs. Some examples are bake
(baked), and date (dated).
Verbs that end in a short vowel sound and then a consonant often double the consonant to create the past
tense form. We still consider these verbs regular. Some
examples are hop (hopped), and plan (planned).
Some verbs stay the same in the past tense or take on
a whole new form. These verbs are irregular. There are
actually three forms of a verb. Regular verbs are the
same in the second and third forms:
Present tense: play
Past tense (sometimes called simple past): played
Special Issues with Verbs 2
Past participle (the one you use with the helping verb
has or have): have played
Let’s look at a verb that remains the same for all three
forms:
Present tense: set (Right now I set my book down on
this table.)
Past tense: set (A minute ago I set my book down on
this table.)
Past participle: have set (I have often set my book down
freeze
froze
have frozen
get
got
have gotten
give
gave
have given
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go
went
have gone
(not have went)
grow
grew
have grown
hide
hid
have hidden
or have hid
on this table.)
hit
hit
have hit
The verbs burst and cost also stay the same in all three
forms.
know
knew
have known
There are many, many irregular verbs in the English language, and the only way to learn them is to memorize
them and use them. To help you, here is a list of the
more common irregular verbs.
lay
laid
have laid
lead
led
have led
(no a in led except
the lead in a pencil)
Present Tense
Past Tense
Past Participle
begin
began
have begun
bite
bit
have bitten
blow
blew
have blown
break
broke
have broken
bring
brought
(not brang)
have brought
(not brung)
build
built
have built
buy
bought
have bought
(not boughten)
choose
chose
have chosen
come
came
have come
cut
cut
have cut
do
did
have done
draw
drew
have drawn
drink
drank
have drunk
eat
ate
have eaten
fall
fell
have fallen
fly
flew
have flown
forgive
forgave
have forgiven
leave
left
have left
lend
lent
have lent
let
let
have let
lie
lay
have lain
light
lit
or lighted
have lit
or have lighted
lose
lost
have lost
ride
rode
have ridden
ring
rang
have rung
rise
rose
have risen
run
ran
have run
see
saw
have seen
seek
sought
have sought
set
set
have set
shrink
shrank
have shrunk
sing
sang
have sung
sink
sank
have sunk
sit
sat
have sat
speak
spoke
have spoken
spend
spent
have spent
stand
stood
have stood
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steal
stole
have stolen
7.4. Verbs of Being
swim
swam
have swum
swing
swung
(not swang)
have swung
We have previously talked about verbs of being. To
review, verbs of being are sometimes called linking
verbs because they act as an equal sign joining the
words on either side of them. The most common linking verb is the verb to be with all its various forms:
take
took
have taken
(not tooken)
teach
taught
have taught
tear
tore
have torn
tell
told
have told
think
thought
have thought
throw
threw
have thrown
wear
wore
have worn
write
wrote
have written
(not have wrote)
Practice 60—
Irregular Verb Forms
Correct the verb forms in the following sentences.
Some are correct.
1. I have swam every night this week.
2. The pond has froze, so we can skate on it.
3. The balloon burst as soon as I blew it up.
4. The tickets costed ten dollars each.
5. He through the ball to me.
6. I have always drank milk every day.
I am, you are, he is, I was, you were, they were, I
will be, I have been, etc.
Note that to be is a linking verb only when it is the
main verb! Sometimes the to be verb is a helping verb—
changing the tense of a main verb. For example:
I am a writer. (am is a linking verb, joining I and
writer. I = writer)
I am playing chess. (am is a helping verb; playing is
the main verb. I does not equal chess.)
There are a couple of things about linking verbs that can
cause problems. But before we talk about those, let’s list
some other linking verbs. To be isn’t the only one.
These verbs are also linking verbs, some or all of the
time.
look, taste, smell, sound, grow, remain, become,
feel
See if you can imagine the verbs in the first sentence in
each pair as equal signs linking the word before them
with the word after them. Then, in the second sentence
in each pair, see how the verb is not a linking verb, but
an action verb:
The cake looks good.
I look at the cake.
The pizza tastes good.
I taste the pizza.
9. I have tore my new shirt!
The coffee smells fresh.
I smell coffee.
10. He lended me his sweater.
The music sounds loud.
I sound the horn.
11. Last year he lead the parade.
The room grows quiet.
The flowers grow tall.
It remained noisy.
She remained in her seat.
7. The school bell has already rung.
8. Have you went to the new mall yet?
12. Yesterday I laid out in the sun all day.
13. The sun rose very early this morning.
14. Sit this book down on the chair.
15. Lie this blanket down in the sun.
See Appendix G for the answers.
It became clear to me.
I feel sad about that.
(generally not used as
an action verb)
I feel the cat’s fur.
Special Issues with Verbs 2
Adjectives After Linking Verbs
As we discussed way back in Section 1.6, adverbs are
used to modify verbs. However, adverbs modify only
action verbs. We use adjectives, not adverbs, after linking verbs. If you look at the examples in the previous
section, you will see that in the first column, the words
after the linking verb are adjectives: good, fresh, loud,
quiet, noisy, clear, sad.
Here are a few examples of sentences with action verbs
followed by adverbs:
She plays piano well.
He talks very quietly.
He walked up the stairs hurriedly.
The adjective after the linking verb usually doesn’t cause
any trouble. Here is a case where it can cause a problem:
I feel bad about this. (not badly)
Many people say I feel badly, but that is not correct.
Badly is an adverb. Bad is an adjective and should follow the linking verb feel.
✎✎ But what if you feel good? Can you use well (an
adverb)? Yes, you can. Although well is an adverb,
you can use it to mean a state of health, so in this
case either good or well is fine.
Pronouns After Linking Verbs
In Section 6.2 we talked about pronoun cases. After a
linking verb, we use a nominative case pronoun. In this
instance the linking verb will usually be the to be verb.
After a to be verb, you use the pronoun you would use
as a subject, not an object. Here are some examples:
7.5. Voice: Active or Passive?
Verbs, in addition to having tense, have voice: active and
passive. These two voices are pretty easy to understand:
• In active voice the subject of the sentence is performing the action of the verb. For example: She drove to
school.
• In passive voice, the subject does not perform the
action of the verb, but receives the action. For example: She was driven to school by her brother. She is
still the subject, and was driven is still the verb, but
this sentence is passive because she didn’t drive.
Here is the rule: Use active voice most of the time in
your writing. It makes your writing much stronger.
There are a couple of instances in which you use passive
voice:
• Use passive voice when you don’t know who performed the action. For example: The school was built
in 1960.
• Use passive voice when it isn’t important who performed the action, or you don’t want to say who performed the action. For example: He was awarded the
Medal of Honor. It doesn’t matter who gave him the
award. The important thing is that he received it.
However, perhaps the President of the United States
gave him the award, and that is the important thing.
In that case, you might want to use the active voice
and say, “The President of the United States gave him
the Medal of Honor.”
Practice 61—
Active and Passive Voice
Is Nancy there? Yes, this is she. (not this is her)
Identify each verb as active or passive:
It is they who are coming with us. (not them)
1. The ball was thrown by the rookie.
It is I who played the trick on you. (not me)
2. I sat in the front row at the game!
Does that sound a little too formal for you? Yes, I know
it does! I would recommend if you are writing something important you do it correctly. In conversation,
you can certainly be more relaxed!
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3. The game went into overtime.
4. The popcorn was bought by my friend.
5. After the game we drove home.
Rewrite each sentence in the active voice:
6. He was bitten by a mosquito.
7. The museum was built by ABC Construction.
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8. The car was driven by the salesman.
9. The dog paced back and forth before he was fed by
his owner.
10. The book was donated to the library by my aunt and
her family.
See Appendix G for the answers.
7.6. What Is Subjunctive Mood,
Anyway?
Verbs don’t just have tense and voice. They also have
mood. Most of the time mood doesn’t pose a problem,
but sometimes it can.
There are generally considered to be three moods:
1. Indicative mood is used most of the time. Regular,
old statements are indicative mood.
2. Imperative mood includes imperative sentences,
which are commands (Tell me a story, for example).
3. Subjunctive mood is the one that can be a little
confusing, Subjunctive mood is used for sentences
(1) with commands and recommendations, and
(2) for things that are not true.
Commands and Recommendations
Here are some examples of the subjunctive mood used
with commands or recommendations:
I demand that you be there to answer questions. In
this sentence you be there is subjunctive. Generally, you would say you are there.
I recommend that she cook dinner for the party on
Friday. In this sentence she cook is in the subjunctive. Generally, you would say she cooks.
Most of the time, we don’t have a problem with this use
of the subjunctive. It just sounds right to us.
Things That Are Not True
Here is where some people have problems with the subjunctive. Your clues here are clauses that are introduced
with as if, as though, and if. What follows is generally
not true. Another clue is a clause following the verb
wish. Here are some examples:
I wish I were rich. It is not correct in this case to
say I wish I was rich. You need the subjunctive
because you aren’t rich. Notice that although the
sentence is present tense, subjunctive looks like
the past tense.
If I were rich, I would buy a big mansion. It is not
correct to say If I was rich. You need the subjec-
tive because you aren’t rich.
She acts as though she were the boss. We use sub-
junctive here because she is not the boss; she just
acts that way.
He speaks as if he were from Britain, but I know he
is American. We use subjunctive because he is not
from Britain.
In the present tense subjunctive, you see how we actually use the past tense form of the verb. If we want to
use subjunctive in the past tense, we go back further
and use the past perfect! Here are some examples:
If I had known you were coming, I would have baked
you a cake. (Not if I knew you were coming . . . )
Practice 62—
Using Subjunctive Mood
Rewrite the following sentences correctly. Some may
already be correct.
1. If I was you, I would call them.
2. If I were company president, I would do things
differently.
3. She looks as if she were tired.
4. She acts as if she were a queen.
5. I recommend that you are there for the meeting.
6. I sure wish I was rich like you!
7. I told her I thought she should be there.
See Appendix G for the answers.
7.7. Using Strong Verbs
When you write, you want to use strong verbs that really
tell what is going on. You will then need fewer adverbs
and adjectives. One of the verbs you want to limit is the
to be verb, which is not very interesting.
Special Issues with Verbs 2
Instead of she is tall, you could say she stands over six
feet tall.
Instead of it is a rainy day, you could say the rain is pouring down.
Instead of the diamond is very pretty, you could say the
diamond sparkles on her finger.
Just be aware that overusing verbs like is and has can be
boring in your writing. You want to be more precise in
your descriptions.
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Chapter 7 Test
Special Issues with Verbs
Part 1—Choose the correct answer.
18. I wish I (was, were) going with you.
1. I have (brung, brought) you the newspaper.
19. Yesterday I say to my friend that I know who you are.
2. I (shrank, shrunk) my jeans in the dryer.
20.The fish smells badly, so I don’t think I will eat it.
3. Can we skate on the pond that has (froze, frozen)?
4. He did (good, well) on the exam.
5. It is (her, she) who is wearing the dog costume.
Part 2—Identify each sentence as written in the active
or passive voice.
6. I told my dog to (lay, lie) down.
1. Follow this street for about seven miles.
7. (Set, sit) the cake on the counter.
2. The map shows the shortest route.
8. If I (wasn’t, weren’t) so scared, I would just jump into
the deep water.
3. The cake was baked by my favorite aunt.
9. The sun has (risen, rose) over the horizon.
10. I recommend that you (are, be) more polite next
time.
11. Every day I (sat, have sat) in this tree.
12. My balloon (burst, bursted) right after I blew it up.
13. I feel (bad, badly) about the broken vase.
14. My stomach just (growled, has growled), so it must
be time for dinner!
15. I (lay, laid) my backpack down right over there.
16. The water has (laid, lain) there all day.
17. She had (gone, went) to get some supplies at the stationery store.
4. Wait until the sun goes down.
5. I have given you all the money I have.
Part 3—Identify the tense of the main verb in each
sentence.
1. I wanted to go to the movies tonight.
2. It is true that she told a lie.
3. I will have been out of school for five years when
you graduate.
4. I have seen my friends every day this week.
5. Where are you going?
See Appendix G for the answers.
Chapter 8
Commas: Yup! A Whole Chapter
8.1. To Comma or Not To Comma:
That Is the Question
Commas, commas, commas: nothing confuses writers,
editors, students, and everyone else more than commas.
Some of us don’t like commas and use too few of them.
Others of us don’t really know where they belong and
use too many of them.
There are many comma rules. There are also some places
where a comma is optional. The main use of a comma
is to make writing easier and clearer to read, but there
are many situations where a comma rule really doesn’t
make anything clearer, but is expected of good writers.
What to do, what to do . . .
In this chapter I will give you the comma rules. But
more than lengthy explanations, I will give you examples. Sometimes an example is worth a thousand words
of explanation.
There are two basic comma rules:
Mary went to see a movie, Mom went to visit
Grandma, Dad went to an auto race, and I stayed
home. (series of clauses/sentences)
So what about that final comma—the one before the
and. Do you need that one? That one is famously called
the Oxford comma because it was first used by the
Oxford University Press. Some people use it and others
don’t. Unless you are following a particular style guide
that dictates whether or not to use it, it is really up to
you. The only advice I have is this: whether or not you
decide to use the Oxford comma, use it or don’t use it
consistently within one piece of writing. Don’t switch
around.
Warning: Sometimes leaving out the Oxford comma
can cause confusion. Sometimes putting it in can also
cause confusion, so watch out for these instances:
The President of the United States, the actress and
model attended the party. (This sentence could
1. Don’t use a comma unless you have a reason to use
one.
be read as meaning the President was an actress
and model.) The Presi­dent, the actress, and the
model were at the party. (That is much clearer!)
2. Use a comma anywhere where not using one would
cause the reader confusion.
8.3. Compound Sentences
See what I mean? Here are the rules:
8.2. Series Comma (Oxford Comma)
One of the most common uses of the comma is in
a series. This can be a series of words, phrases, or
sentences.
I brought oranges, applies, bananas, pears, and grapes.
(series of words)
I went to the museum, to the mall, to the post office,
and to school. (series of phrases)
Use a comma before the conjunction in compound
sentences (two or more complete sentences joined by a
conjunction like and, but, or so. Examples:
I live in Texas, and my brother lives in Utah.
I would love to go, but I don’t have any money.
If the part of the sentence after the conjunction is not a
complete sentence, do not use a comma.
He went to the grocery store and bought some items
for the party.
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In the above sentence the words after and are not a
complete sentence; there is no subject (bought some
items for the party).
If the two parts of the compound sentence are very
short and closely related, you do not need the comma.
I played the piano and my brother danced.
Sometimes authors will choose not to put a comma in
a compound sentence. Unless the sentence is difficult
to read, this is not a great problem. However, I would
recommend using the comma.
If the two (or more) parts of the compound sentence are
complicated and already contain commas, it is wise to
separate the two sentences with a semicolon (;) rather
than a comma. Example:
Harry, who is a surgeon, went to school on the East
Coast; but his brother, Paul, went to school in Europe,
where he met his wife.
✎✎ Note that then is not one of the FANBOYS conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, so, yet) and cannot be
used to connect two sentences unless you also use a
conjunction or you use a semicolon. Example:
My sister went to the mall, then she came home.
(incorrect)
My sister went to the mall, and then she came home.
(correct)
My sister went to the mall; then she came home.
(correct)
8.4. Between Two Adjectives
Use a comma between two adjectives in a row that both
describe the same noun. You can usually tell if you need
a comma by putting and between the adjectives. If it
makes sense with and, you need a comma:
The dress had a big, blue bow. (Big and blue both
The old, torn dress was not appropriate to wear to
the wedding. (Old and torn dress makes sense.)
I have a new black purse. (New and black purse?
Probably not. No comma needed.)
Practice 63—
Some Important Comma Rules
Add commas where necessary for series, compound
sentences, or consecutive adjectives. Some sentences
may be correct as they are.
1. Joe was late for work but he was on time for the
meeting.
2. Please buy eggs, milk, bread, and butter when you
go to the store.
3. I was late for school and late for dinner too.
4. I bought a bright blue dress for the party.
5. I found some valuable jewels in my grandmother’s
old dusty trunk.
6. I brought pens, pencils, paper and a notebook.
See Appendix G for the answers.
8.5. Introductory Elements
A comma is used after certain words, phrases, and
clauses that come at the beginning of a sentence. Here
are some examples of where commas should and
shouldn’t be used.
Introductory Words and Transition Words
First, we will examine the situation. Next, we will form
a plan. (transition words)
In my opinion, we are on the right track. (introduc-
tory phrase)
Indeed, I think you are correct.
describe the bow.)
Well, I think you should try to go with your friends.
She wore a bright blue dress. (Here, there is no
comma because bright describes blue, rather
than dress.)
Yes, I think you are correct.
By the way, I brought your book back to you.
Commas
Introductory Phrases
In Paris we saw the Eiffel Tower. (Introductory,
short prepositional phrases don’t really require
commas after them.)
In Paris last September, we saw the Eiffel Tower.
According to the instructions, we should do it my
way.
Walking down the street, the man dropped his
heavy bag.
✎✎ Make sure that when you use a participial phrase,
like that last example, the person doing the action is
right after the phrase. Otherwise, you will have a misplaced modifier and quite possibly a silly sentence:
Walking down the street, the man dropped his bag.
(correct)
Walking down the street, the bag fell to the ground.
(NO)
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8.6. Interrupting Material
Use a comma around elements that interrupt the flow
of the sentence, whether they are words, phrases, or
clauses. Sometimes. If the element is required for the
sentence to make sense, it is called restrictive, and no
commas should be used.
Commas Needed
My brother, Ken, is in the Army. (The commas here
imply that we don’t need to mention your brother’s name, either because he is your only brother
or because the listener or reader knows whom
you are talking about.)
My neighbor, the chief of police, is hardly ever home.
The cake, chocolate with vanilla frosting, was gone
in a minute!
This dress, by the way, was on sale.
I say, indeed, you should come with us.
Introductory Clauses
While I was walking, I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen
in years.
After we ate dinner, we went for a long walk.
Because we had run out of money, we couldn’t buy
any snacks at the movies.
Those sentences, which begin with adverb clauses, can
all be turned around. Generally, when you turn them
around, you omit the comma.
I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in years while I was
walking.
We went for a long walk after we ate dinner.
We couldn’t buy any snacks at the movie because
we had run out of money.
✎✎ Do not use a comma after introductory phrases if
they are immediately followed by a verb:
Into the cave in the middle of the night came a bear.
Out of the blue came a man wearing a clown
costume.
To be an astronaut is my ambition.
Mr. Paul, who has taught at the school for many
years, is retiring this year.
My brother, if he can get the time off, will go with us.
The detective looked at the evidence and, if he found
anything unusual, he didn’t tell the news reporter
about it.
No Commas Needed
My brother Ken is in the Army. (As opposed to the
very same sentence up above, let’s assume you
have more than one brother and you need to
identify which brother you are talking about in
this sentence. If that is the case, use no comma.
This is called a restrictive element. It restricts the
brother to Ken, not one of your other brothers.)
My neighbor across the street is very noisy. (Identi-
fies your noisy neighbor as the one across the
street, as opposed to the neighbor next door, for
example.)
The cake with the white frosting was gone in a
minute! (Using no commas identifies the cake as
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the one with the white frosting, not another cake
with a different type of frosting.)
All the teachers who have worked at the school
for more than 25 years are retiring this year. (The
clause in bold is necessary to identify which
teachers are retiring.)
Practice 64—
Commas for Introductory and Interrupting
Elements
Insert any necessary commas into these sentences.
Some may be correct as they are.
1. My cousin who is in college is graduating next year.
2. Finally, I got a dog!
3. First you must add this column, and then you can
subtract this number.
Bring a pencil, pen, paper, erasers, etc.
Bring something to write with, e.g., a pencil.
I speak only one language, i.e., my native language,
English.
Dates
When you are writing the date on the top of a letter
or where it isn’t in text (in a sentence), use a comma
between the day and year.
August 29, 2013
Whenever, and wherever, you write the date, if you omit
the day, you do not need a comma between the month
and the year.
August 2013
4. In the cupboard on the top shelf you should see the
sugar.
If you write the date in text, the year is followed by a
comma if you have included the day. The two examples
below are both correct:
5. Although I live far away from my sister I see her
frequently.
The March 2014 issue of Golf Digest has an article
you should read.
6. My brother Jack is the tallest of all my brothers.
7. The pen that I have in my hand was very expensive.
8. Next, put the chocolate chips in the batter.
9. This is in my opinion the wrong way to do it!
10. In December we usually get several feet of snow.
See Appendix G for the answers.
8.7. Other Common Uses
for Commas
The following sections discuss the other important uses
for commas.
The March 5, 2014, issue of Golf Digest has an article
you should read.
For more information about writing the numbers in
dates, refer to Section 11.8.
Commas with Numbers
Use a comma in numbers of four or more numerals.
1,000
12,000
350,000
2,000,000
Use a comma to separate two numbers that happen to
fall in a row in a sentence (or, better yet, rewrite the
sentence to avoid the situation).
Out of the total of 350, 45 were women.
etc., i.e., e.g.
If you are using any of these abbreviations in the middle
of a sentence, use commas both before and after the
abbreviation. Since etc. is generally used at the end of
the sentence, just use a comma before it. For more information about these three abbreviations, see Chapter 12.
Etc. means and so on or and the others; e.g. means for
example; and i.e. means that is. Here are some examples:
With Too
If you use too, meaning also, in the middle of a sentence,
it is set off with commas. However, if too is used at the
end of the sentence, there is no comma.
I, too, would love to see that play.
I would love to see that play too.
Commas
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Direct Address
Contrasting Expressions and Elements
When you are talking to someone using their name,
regardless of where the name falls in the sentence, use
commas to set off the name. Here are some examples,
including examples using another word that also needs
to be set off.
Use a comma in contrasting expressions (they generally
begin with but, not, or rather than).
Charlie, eat that sandwich!
Eat that sandwich, Charlie!
Eat that sandwich, Charlie, and then you can go out
to play.
No, Charlie, you cannot go out to play.
I like chocolate, but not milk chocolate.
I like nonfat milk, not cream.
I like my pizza with pesto, rather than with tomato
sauce.
Use a comma in contrasting expressions.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
Garbage in, garbage out
Well, Charlie, did you finish your sandwich yet?
When a Word Is Left Out
Setting off Academic Degrees
A comma is used to set off academic degrees. Here are
some examples.
Marc Jones, Ph.D., is speaking at graduation.
Peter Wolf, M.D., has just started to work here.
Sometimes when a word is left out of a sentence (intentionally), the sentence is difficult to understand. Use
a comma if that is the case. Most of the time, when a
word is left out, the sentence is perfectly clear.
The fact of the matter is, they never liked us. (That
before they is left out.)
This sentence is perfectly clear without a comma:
Addresses
Commas are used in addresses, whether they are on an
envelope, on the top of a letter, or used in a sentence.
Here are some examples:
Envelope: Margaret Toll
151 Broadway Avenue
Savannah, Georgia 21456
Text: I live at 15 Market Street, Boston, MA 02215.
Use a comma to set off the name of the state in text,
when it follows the name of a city.
I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in a small farmhouse.
I was born in Atlanta in a small farmhouse.
Company Names
Spell and punctuate company names exactly as the
company does, whether you think it is correct or not.
I know she doesn’t like us.
Commas for Emphasis
You may use a comma for emphasis, but don’t overdo it.
Here are some examples:
I agree, completely, with what you have to say.
I, myself, will bake and decorate the wedding cake.
Letters and Emails
Use a comma after both the greeting and the closing of
a letter, note, or email. (In business letters or business
emails, the greeting is generally followed by a colon
rather than a comma. See Section 9.6.)
Dear Jerry,
Hi, Stacy,
Yours truly,
Sincerely,
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Unusual Word Order in a Sentence
If you choose to write a sentence that has an unusual
word order, you might need a comma for clarity.
Why he wants to move to Michigan, I will never
understand.
Setting off However and Therefore
When however and therefore are in the middle of a sentence, sometimes you can set them off with commas.
Other times you will need a period or semicolon on
one side of them. How do you know? Take out the however or therefore. Read the sentence. If the sentence is
fine without however or therefore, you can set the word
off with commas. But if you are left with a run-on sentence, you need a period or semicolon before however
or therefore. (Instead, you can add a conjunction like
and or but.)
I know, however, that he is coming with us. (I know
that he is coming with us is fine. Therefore, com-
mas are enough.)
I know that he is coming with us; however, I don’t
know how long he is staying. (I know that he is
coming with us, I don’t know how long he is staying is a run on. You need a semicolon before
however.)
Anyplace Where Not Using a Comma
Would Be Confusing
Here is the best rule of all! Use a comma wherever not
using one would be confusing. Here are some examples:
After eating ants invaded our blanket. (Place a
comma after eating to avoid eating ants!)
The two dresses were blue with white dots, and yellow with red dots.
Practice 65—
More Comma Rules
Insert commas where necessary. One or more of the
sentences may not need commas.
1. I was born in Boston Massachusetts in July 1990.
2. The population of Ourtown is 67000.
3. The math department offers algebra, geometry, statistics etc.
4. I too would love to visit France.
5. I agree completely that you need a vacation.
6. I love scary movies; therefore I want to see the new
monster movie.
7. Please mow the lawn, Phil.
8. I counted the books, and there are 75 35 of them
children’s books.
9. There is an old saying, “Here today gone tomorrow.”
10. What he meant I don’t know.
See Appendix G for the answers.
8.8. Don’t Put Commas Here!
Although there are many comma rules and places where
you do need commas, there are also places where you
don’t put commas. Don’t use a comma unless you have
a reason. Here are some places where you don’t use
commas.
1. Do not use a comma before a FANBOYS conjunction
(for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) if the words that follow the
conjunction are not a complete sentence.
I washed the dishes and swept the floors. (Swept the
floors is not a complete sentence.)
Would you like pizza or chicken? (Chicken is not a
complete sentence, and two items do not make a
series.)
✎✎ The conjunction but is an exception, and you can use
a comma before it when the words on either side of
it contrast.
She is tiny, but strong.
He took the sofa, but left the chairs and table.
2. Do not use a comma before or after something in
parentheses unless the sentence would have a comma
there anyway.
Right: The company president (he is my cousin)
offered me a job.
Wrong: The company president (he is my cousin),
offered me a job.
Commas
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Right: Although he is my cousin (the company
president), I think I would have gotten the job anyway. (If you left out what is in parentheses, there
Wrong use of comma: There are football fields, tennis courts, and a swimming pool, at the new school.
(There should be no comma after pool.)
3. You do not need a comma after Jr. or Sr. or Esq. in a
name.
8. Sometimes you use a comma to avoid confusion.
However, sometimes putting a comma in causes confusion, so you leave it out.
would still be a comma.)
Martin Luther King, Jr. is a well-known American.
4. Never put a comma between a subject and its verb
unless there is an interrupter set off in commas between
them.
Wrong use of comma: Hannah and her brothers,
went to Paris last week.
Wrong use of comma: The bright blue dress, is in
the closet.
5. Never put a comma between a verb and its object.
Wrong use of comma: He threw, the ball into the
window.
Wrong use of comma: He is baking, a cake and
brownies.
6. Never put a comma between an adjective and its
noun.
Wrong use of comma: She wore a blue, dress to the
party. (No comma between blue and dress.)
Wrong use of comma: It was a huge, airplane.
7. Never put a comma between a noun or verb and a
prepositional phrase that immediately follows it.
Wrong use of comma: She was making cookies, in
the kitchen.
Richard, my boss, and I are taking a break. In this
sentence you can’t tell if the writer is talking
about two or three people. Is Richard my boss?
We can’t tell. It is best to rewrite a confusing sentence like this. Here are two possibilities:
Richard, who is my boss, and I are taking a break.
I am taking a break with Richard and my boss.
✎✎ A Few Helpful Notes
1. Sometimes you have a choice of whether or not to use
a comma.
Of course, I will go with you.
Of course I will go with you.
2. If you are setting off something with commas, make
sure you have your commas in the correct place. To
check read the sentence without the words within the
commas. If it makes sense, you are okay. (Incidentally,
the same rule applies for words set off by dashes.)
This car is as good as, but not better, than my
old one. (This car is as good as than my old one
doesn’t make sense.)
This car is as good as, but not better than, my old
one. (Now, the sentence is correct.)
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Chapter 8 Test
Commas
Some of these sentences are missing commas; some
of them have commas that don’t belong there. Some
sentences are correct as they are. Rewrite the incorrect
sentences. Write “correct ” if the sentence is fine as it is.
These are comma mistakes only.
11. She is very thin but very strong too.
1. Angie made a great presentation and the audience
loved it.
13. When I took the exam for the second time I passed
it; however I did poorly the first time I tried it.
12. He cleaned the house, and then mowed the lawn.
2. Bring me a pencil, a pen and some paper, Jack.
14. We visited an old beautiful castle on a warm sunny
day.
3. In June, 2000, my sister was born in New York.
4. The January 6, 1950 issue of this magazine is very,
valuable.
5. Send the money to me at 555 Wisconsin St. Bakersfield, CA, 93677.
6. My dog, whose name is Fred is a terrier.
7. Because of the wind we, can’t sail today.
8. The difficult classes, e.g. calculus are offered only in
the evening.
9. Yes, we are all going on vacation to Miami, Florida.
10. The woman who is wearing the yellow hat, is my aunt.
15. Uncle Joe, Aunt Betty, and I love to play Scrabble,
whenever we have the chance.
16. As we were eating ants invaded our picnic blanket.
17. The two dogs were black and white and brown and
white, respectively.
18. I was late for school because there was traffic.
19. The suit, that is on the back rack, is on sale for $100.
20. John Rivers, M.D. received his degree from Winchell
College, in Nebraska.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Chapter 9
Punctuation (Except Commas)
9.1. Introduction
Punctuation makes our writing easier to read. Without punctuation our words would be just that—words.
Punctuation puts in the pauses, the stops, the tones
of questions and exclamations. It also shows what
is possessive, what is a contraction, and what is an
abbreviation.
Now that commas are out of the way (Chapter 8), let’s
move on to the other—and less complicated—punctuation marks.
9.2. Periods (.)
Obviously, the most common use of the period is to
put one at the end of a sentence unless the sentence is a
question or an exclamation.
If a question is indirect, rather than direct, you will also
use a period rather than a question mark:
He asked who was coming with us.
The question is how to find out who did it.
Some words in our language are merely “shortened”
and should not have periods after them. Here are some
examples:
typo, exam, memo, limo, logo, info, lab, rep, photo
Generally speaking, most abbreviations should be
avoided in text; some are fine to use in tables or graphs.
In text, avoid using abbreviations for names of the
months or days, measurements, etc.
There are so many abbreviations it is best to look up the
correct punctuation of a specific abbreviation if you are
unsure.
✎✎ If an abbreviation or acronym (an acronym is an
abbreviated form of a name that uses all capital letters and spells out its own word, such as OSHA or
EPCOT) might not be understood by your reader, it
is customary to spell it out the first time it is used
and to put the acronym in parentheses. Then the
other times you use it, you can use just the acronym
or abbreviation.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
✎✎ Hints for Using Abbreviations
Abbreviations
Periods are used in some abbreviations. For example, Jr.,
Sr., Dr., Mr., Ms., Mrs., Esq., and Ph.D. generally have a
period at the end.
✎✎ If an abbreviation that uses a period comes at the
end of the sentence, only one period is used.
I was always in awe of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Abbreviations that are made up of all capital letters usually do not use periods:
IBM, FBI, YMCA, NHL, VIP (but Washington D.C.
does have periods)
1. When in doubt, don’t use an abbreviation. Spell the
words out.
2. The abbreviations a.m. and p.m. generally use periods.
3. U.S. is commonly used as an adjective, but United
States is spelled out as a noun: U.S. Navy, but the
population of the United States.
4. The abbreviation OK has no periods, but it is better
to just spell it out (okay).
5. When in doubt about an abbreviation, look it up or
spell it out.
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Decimals
Why? When?
Periods are used in decimals: 11.05, 3.2, $5.00
Did he say he was coming with us? When?
Lists or Outlines
Periods are usually used after the numbers in a numbered list, or numbers and letters in an outline:
1.
2.
If a short question is embedded within a sentence, set
off the question with commas (or sometimes even a
dash will do) and use a question mark after it.
I can come with you, can’t I, if I finish all my chores?
You can also use a question mark at the end of a statement if it is said with the tone of a question:
You expect to go to the party dressed like that?
a.
b.
Measurements
Measurements are often abbreviated. In text you can
always spell them out. However, they do deserve some
special attention here.
Just remember that although ft (foot), yd (yard), and m
(meter) are not followed by periods, in. (inch) always is,
to avoid confusion with the preposition in.
Practice 66—
Using Periods
There are no periods in any of these sentences. Insert
periods where necessary.
1. Dr L Martin, MD is my skin doctor
2. My cousin, Walter Hummel, Jr used to work for the
FBI
3. He stands 6 ft and 3 in tall
4. I work at H Hall Corp
5. Please meet me at my house at 7:45 pm
6. Here is my address: 54 Elm St, Albany, NY
See Appendix G for the answers.
9.3. Question Marks (?)
Obviously, the most common use of the question mark
is after a question!
Besides putting a question mark after a complete sentence that is a question, you also use a question mark
after a question that may not be a complete sentence:
✎✎ Question marks with quotations: We will cover
this topic later in this chapter, but for now: Question marks can go either inside or outside quotes,
depending on the sentence. If the entire sentence
is a question, but the quote isn’t, the question mark
goes outside. If the quote is a question, but the entire
sentence is not, quotes go inside. If both the quote
and the sentence are questions, use one question
mark, inside the quotes.
He asked, “When will we get there?”
Did he say, “I hope we get there soon”?
Did he ask, “When will we get there?”
Practice 67—
Question Marks
Insert question marks in the necessary places in the following sentences. Some sentences may not need any
question marks.
1. She asked if I could go with her tonight
2. Do you know the way
3. Did she say, “I can’t go with you this time”
4. Did he ask, “When will we be there”
5. He asked, “When will we be there”
See Appendix G for the answers.
9.4. Exclamation Points (!)
Exclamation points are used to express emotion after
either a complete sentence, an expression, or a word
(interjection).
Help! The house is on fire!
Punctuation
Gee whiz! Did you see the size of that dog!
Notice that in the second example, the sentence is actually a question. However, it is said with such emotion
that you could use an exclamation point instead of a
question mark.
Tips for using exclamation points correctly.
Do not overuse them. (Yes, I did in this book.)
Do not use two or more in a row (!!).
Do not use them with question marks (!?).
A novelist told me that an author should use no more
than two exclamation points in an entire novel. And
they really have no place at all in formal writing. So
please don’t use them unnecessarily! (like there)
✎✎ The rules for using exclamation points with quotation marks are the same as the rules for question
marks with quotations. Refer to Section 9.3.
Practice 68—
Exclamation Points
Insert exclamation points where necessary.
1. She shouted that there was a fire in the kitchen
2. She shouted, “There’s a fire in the kitchen”
3. I hate it when you say to me, “I forgot to call you”
4. If you are just joking, don’t ever shout, “There’s a fire
in the kitchen”
See Appendix G for the answers.
9.5. Semicolons (;)
Despite the fears that some people have about using
them, semicolons are not too complicated. Unlike commas, semicolons really have only three rules. A semicolon is not interchangeable with either a comma or a
colon but is probably closer to a comma than to a colon.
Compound Sentences
Use a semicolon in a compound sentence (two sentences that could be joined together with the conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so—the FANBOYS)
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to join the two sentences if you don’t want to use the
FANBOYS conjunction. Or, alternately, use a semicolon
to join to two closely related sentences instead of using
a period. The second part of the sentence, following the
semicolon, does not begin with a capital letter.
I took an airplane, but my brother took the train.
I took an airplane; my brother took the train.
✎✎ If you looked at the second sentence and thought
that however might fit in nicely, you are right. However, you will need to put a semicolon (or period)
before it. However is not a conjunction, and you cannot separate two sentences with it.
My brother took a train. My sister and I flew.
My brother took a train; my sister and I flew.
The examples above are all correct. It is your choice
whether you want to use (1) comma with conjunction,
(2) semicolon, or (3) period.
Incidentally, two sentences connected with a conjunction or with a semicolon are both called compound
sentences.
Compound Sentences with Series or
Other Commas
If you have a compound sentence, and one or both of
the sentences in it already have a series or commas,
you might want to separate the two sentences with a
semicolon rather than just a comma for clarity. You can
either leave the conjunction between the two sentences
or take it out.
She visited Rome, Paris, and Barcelona, and London,
Belfast, and Stockholm are on her itinerary for the
next trip. (unclear)
She visited Rome, Paris, and Barcelona; and London,
Belfast, and Stockholm are on her itinerary for her
next trip. (clearer) (You can take out the and right
after the semicolon, or you can leave it there.
Of course, you can also rewrite the sentence to
avoid the issue.)
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Confusing Series
Dear Sirs:
Check out this sentence:
Dear President Hamilton:
Please pack these items for our trip: jeans, dress
pants, shorts, tee shirts, white, blue, and red uniform
shirts, socks, and black and brown shoes.
Or this one:
We will be joined in the meeting by John, the
president of the company, Sandy, the director of the
department, Larry, Carmen, the personnel director,
and the treasurer.
Both sentences are difficult to understand. Rewriting
can solve the problem. Otherwise, you will want to use
semicolons to separate the main items so that you can
see what goes with what:
Please pack these items for our trip: jeans; dress
pants; shorts; tee shirts; white, blue, and red uniform
shirts; socks; and black and brown shoes.
We will be joined in the meeting by John, the
president of the company; Sandy, the director of the
department; Larry; Carmen, the personnel director;
and the treasurer. (Now you now that there will be
five people joining you.)
✎✎ Don’t use a semicolon for other things. Semicolons
never replace colons for introducing lists, etc.
9.6. Colons (:)
When we think of colons, we most often think of them
introducing lists—and that is a common use of a colon.
There are, however, some other common uses for a
colon:
Digital Time
There is a colon between the hours and minutes in digital time.
12:45 means 45 minutes past the hour of 12.
Salutation of a Business Letter
While you put a comma after the salutation (greeting)
of a friendly letter or email, you put a colon after the
salutation of a business letter.
Between the Title and Subtitle of a Book
While you do not put a colon on the cover itself, if you
write the name of a book in text and want to include the
subtitle as well as the title, use a colon between the two.
I am reading The Best Little Grammar Book Ever:
101 Ways to Impress With Your Writing and Speaking.
✎✎ A colon is also used to separate chapter from verse
in scripture references.
Romans 1:16
In a Compound Sentence
We have already talked about using either a comma
and a FANBOYS conjunction, or a semicolon to separate the two parts of a compound sentence. In some
instances you can also use a colon, but be very careful.
You can use a colon if the second sentence is either an
explanation of the first sentence or a result of the first
sentence. However, in either case, it is not necessary to
use the colon. A semicolon, or a comma with a conjunction is also fine.
He brought a variety of vegetables to the party: he
was going to make a salad. (No capital letter is
required to begin the second sentence.)
Introducing a Quote
Sometimes a colon is used to introduced a quote of a
sentence or longer (not in dialogue).
Mayor Jones said in his speech to the city: “I am committed to cutting crime in the city. We have already
made great strides in this area.”
Introducing Lists
Finally we get to the most common use for colons:
introducing lists. (Yes, the preceding sentence is correct. You need a complete sentence before the colon,
but not after it.)
Punctuation
Your list can be vertical or horizontal. Just remember
that you need to have a complete sentence before your
colon. Don’t put a colon after a verb.
Please bring pencils, pens, and paper to the test.
(correct)
Please bring: pencils, pens, and paper to the test.
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Practice 69—
Semicolons and Colons
These sentences have missing colons and semicolons.
Put the correct mark (either semicolon or colon) in the
blanks:
(incorrect)
1. My favorite season is winter___ my sister prefers
summer.
Please bring these items with you: pencils, pens,
and paper. (correct)
2. The title of the book is Adopting a Dog__ Which
Breed Is for You?
Here are some examples of horizontal lists.
Please bring the following items to the test:
pencils
pens
paper
3. Dear Department Chair__
4. Mayor Jones said the following in his speech___
“I believe that the best is yet to come for the city.”
5. I have visited Paris, France__ Rome, Italy__ and
London, England.
Please bring
pencils
pens
paper
These sentences may have missing or incorrect punctuation. Please correct them. If you add or change any
punctuation, use either a semicolon or colon. Some
sentences may be correct as they are.
Please bring
pencils,
pens, and
paper.
7. Please bring a jacket, warm gloves, and extra socks
on the hike.
All of the above lists are correct. This one is not. No
colon should be used in this case.
Please bring:
pencils
pens
paper
✎✎ Notes: If your list items are complete sentences, they
should be followed by periods. If one list item is a
complete sentence, all list items should be complete
sentences, and they should all be constructed similarly (see Section 11.7, “Parallel Structure”). You can
use bullets or numbers before your list items if you
wish. If you use numbers (such as in steps), the order
of your items should be important. Otherwise, don’t
use numbers.
✎✎ Colons are also used in citations and bibliographical
entries. Consult a style guide for information about
citations.
6. We invited Mr. and Mrs. Greeley, our next door
neighbors, Mr. Jagger, our realtor, and Mr. Thomas.
8. Please bring these items with you
jacket
warm gloves
extra socks
9. The choice of dresses was the blue and white or the
red and black.
10. I don’t know what is wrong with my computer, however, the technician might know.
11. I haven’t gotten paid yet and, therefore, I can’t buy
the gift yet.
12. I have to wait for a phone call, then I can go with you.
See Appendix G for the answers.
9.7. Parentheses ( ) and Brackets [ ]
Parentheses and brackets are used to add additional
information to text. Let’s talk about brackets first, since
there are two obvious places to use them.
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Brackets
If you should need parentheses inside other parentheses, you use brackets inside the parentheses. However, it
is generally better to rewrite your sentence so you don’t
need two levels of parentheses.
Look at the illustration on page 67 (Figure A [Item 7])
for instructions.
The example above is correct. However, it is easy to
avoid using the brackets:
Look at the illustration on page 67 (Figure A, Item 7)
for instructions.
Brackets are also used to add information to a quote,
making the quote easier to understand. For example,
you may be quoting part of a speech in a newspaper
article you are writing. Because you are not quoting the
entire speech, something may be unclear to the reader.
The explanation can be put in brackets. The information
in the brackets is NOT part of the quote.
The mayor said, in his speech to the City Council last
night, “I feel that it [the new mall] will greatly help the
economy in this city.”
(rather than part of the sentence), it is treated as a sentence, with a capital letter and a period. However, often
the parentheses are not needed at all in cases like that.
With parentheses that appear in the middle of a sentence, no commas are needed before or after the parentheses unless there would be a comma there anyway:
My uncle, who was a famous painter (he died last
year), is featured in this art book. (Correct: the
comma would be needed even without the
parentheses.)
Practice 70—
Parentheses and Brackets
Insert parentheses, brackets, and necessary periods and
commas in these sentences:
1. You can park for two hours the parking lot is on your
left if you have a parking pass.
2. Please look at page 75 the figure of the dinosaur bottom left to see the complete skeleton.
3. The President was quoted as saying, “They the Senate will meet in a special session to discuss the new
laws.”
Parentheses
4. Uncle Morris 1899–1990 was a fairly famous artist.
Extra information can be placed in parentheses. Sometimes this information can also be set off by commas
(but never if the information is a complete sentence) or
dashes (see Section 9.8). Parentheses can be included in
a sentence or can be a separate sentence. The following
examples are all correct.
5. We are leaving the children with a babysitter tomorrow evening no children are allowed in the theater.
See Appendix G for the answers.
9.8. Hyphens and Dashes (-/–/—)
Please look at the information on verbs (Chapter 12)
for help.
There are three varieties of hyphens and dashes: short,
medium, and long. Each of them has a different function.
Please look at the information on verbs (see Chapter 12) for help.
Hyphen (-)
Please look at the information on verbs, Chapter 12,
in this book.
The hyphen is the shortest line, easily made on your
keyboard on the number line. The hyphen is used to
separate words. It can separate a word at the end of a
line (on the syllable break only) if there is no room on
the line for the entire word. This use is not as common
anymore, since most writing is on the computer. Often
the computer adjusts spacing to avoid dividing words.
As you see above, if the parentheses are around a complete sentence that is standing on its own after a sentence
Hyphens are also used in compound words: ex-­husband,
self-esteem. However, in many cases, compound words
Please look at the information on verbs. (See
Chapter 12.)
Please look at the information on verbs. (This information is located in Chapter 12.)
Punctuation
are not hyphenated. Here are some things to keep in
mind about word hyphenation.
1. Many words are not hyphenated: cooperate, reestablish, nonfat, etc. If you cannot determine whether
or not to hyphenate a word, look it up in the dictionary. If you cannot find it, or if two sources say different
things, the most important thing is just to be consistent
throughout your piece of writing.
2. Some compound words use a hyphen if they are
placed before a noun they modify, but not if placed after
the noun. Here are some examples:
She won a well-deserved award.
The award she won was well deserved.
She is the mother of a five-year-old boy.
Her son is five years old.
I would like a well-done steak.
I like my steak well done.
She had a lost-puppy look.
She looked like a lost puppy.
En Dash (–)
The en dash is longer than a hyphen and shorter than
the long dash (called an em dash). Often people use
this dash instead of the long dash because it might be
easier to create on the computer. On my Mac, I make
an en dash by pressing Option along with the hyphen.
Sometimes people just use the hyphen for either dash.
Often, people type two hyphens in a row to represent
any type of dash. Sometimes your computer will put the
two hyphens together for you. Mine doesn’t.
The en dash doesn’t have many purposes in writing. It is
used as the minus sign in math. In writing, it is generally used to indicate a range:
John Marks (1935–1990) wrote this poem.
verbs, 12–20 (index entry)
Spring is March–June every year.
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Em Dash (—)
The em dash is longer than the en dash. On my Mac,
I press Shift+Option+hyphen simultaneously to create it. It is the dash most often used in text. It is used
to indicate a distinct and abrupt break in thought. Yes,
sometimes you can use parentheses or commas (only
if the words do not make a complete sentence) instead.
We found the dog—he disappeared over a week ago—
all the way across town.
Notice that if you take the words inside the dashes
out, the sentence makes sense. You can check to make
sure your dashes are in the right place by taking out
the information between the dashes and reading the
sentence. It should make sense. If it doesn’t, check the
location of your dashes.
Dashes work well in the above sentence. However, you
could also use parentheses:
We found the dog (he disappeared over a week ago)
all the way across town. OR
We found the dog all the way across town. (He disappeared over a week ago.)
You cannot use commas to set off the above material in
dashes because it is a complete sentence. However, you
can change the wording:
We found the dog, which disappeared over a week
ago, all the way across town. (Yes, animals are which,
not who.)
✎✎ There are generally no spaces before or after hyphens
and dashes.
Practice 71—
Hyphens and Dashes
Add hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes where needed.
Some sentences may be correct as they are.
1. She was very well suited for her position as chief
nurse.
2. My cat he disappeared for eleven days had gone all
the way over to the next neighborhood.
3. Please read the information on pages 6 8. (Place
the correct mark between the numbers).
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4. The two and a half year old boy was climbing the
tree.
making letters plural if you think it improves clarity.
Sometimes, you do need to put an apostrophe:
5. Tom Bowers (1903 1969) lived in this house. (Place
the correct mark between the numbers).
I got all A’s. (not to be confused with the word as)
6. I don’t know perhaps you do what time the wedding
begins.
I know my ABCs.
7. I have seen a number of purple haired people in the
parade.
8. The girl is three years old.
I grew up in the 1970s.
✎✎ With capital letters, you can decide whether to italicize. I like to, but if you don’t want to, just make sure
you are consistent.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Foreign Terms and Phrases
9.9. Italics
While italics are not actually punctuation, we can
include them here, since they do have rules for use.
(Italics are the slanted letters you can make on your
computer.) You cannot make italics in handwriting, so
don’t even try! If you are writing by hand, underlining
indicates italics. If using a computer, use italics. Do not
use both italics and underlining at the same time!
Uncommon foreign terms and phrases are generally
italicized, but commonly used ones are not. Once a
word or phrase becomes common in English, you don’t
need to italicize it. These are among the many foreign
words and phrases that do not require italics:
a la carte, alma mater, bona fide, chutzpah, en
route, et al., etc., non sequitur, per annum, per
diem, magnum opus, rendezvous, savoir faire,
­status quo, summa cum laude, and vice versa
Words Used as Themselves
Consult a dictionary if you have questions.
Italicize a word you use as itself, rather than as a grammatical part of a sentence:
Titles? Italics or Quotes?
You used the word blatant incorrectly in your essay.
What does defenestrate mean?
If you use a word as itself and make it plural, sources
disagree about whether or not you need an apostrophe.
However, the s is not in italics.
You have too many thes in your sentence. OR
You have too many the’s in your sentence.
Although I tend to dislike putting apostrophes in, I think
the second sentence is clearer. Up to you.
Letters and Numbers Used as Themselves
Italicize a letter or number you use as itself.
You left out the final e when you spelled this word.
You left out one of the 4s in the phone number.
You don’t really need an apostrophe when making
a number plural. The apostrophe can be used when
A common use for italics is for titles. However, some
titles are quoted rather than italicized. So how do you
know which is which? Generally speaking, large things
are in italics, and parts of those things are in quotes:
ItalicsQuotes
Book title
Short story, poem, or chapter title
Movie title
Title of a scene
Play title
TV series title
Opera title
CD title
Title of an act or scene
Title of an episode
Title of an aria
Song title
Paintings
Planes, boats, spacecraft
if given names other than their brand or model
Punctuation
Other Uses for Quotes
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9.10. Quotation Marks (“”)
Sometimes quotes are used in text for emphasis. This
is fine, but don’t get carried away and emphasize too
much. Using italics is better than boldface, quotes, or
all capital letters for emphasis.
Quotation marks are most commonly used to enclose
direct quotations, the exact words said by someone.
They are not used for indirect quotes.
Often a fiction or memoir writer will use italics to represent thoughts rather than dialogue or background text.
Indirect quote: Mary said that it is really cold outside.
Practice 72—
Italics
Underline any words you would put in italics. Some
sentences may be correct as they are.
Direct quote: Mary said, “It’s really cold outside.”
(Indirect quotes often have the word that in
them.)
Here are some examples of using quotations marks
correctly.
Mary said, “It is really cold outside.”
1. Please look up the word incoherent in the dictionary.
“It is really cold outside,” Mary said.
2. You have used I to begin your sentences too many times.
“It is really cold outside,” said Mary, “but I need to
go out.”
3. I would like my steak served a la carte.
4. He has a new boat, which he named Lucille.
5. I told you the suspect had blonde hair, not brown.
6. I flew on a Boeing 757 to Miami.
7. I just read a book called The Silent Spring.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Practice 73—
Italics Versus Quotation Marks
Please underline (italics) or use quotes, as appropriate.
1. Please turn to Chapter 2, The Order of Operations.
2. The Mona Lisa is my favorite painting.
3. I was excited to see the movie Star Wars for the
tenth time!
4. I always watch the television show From Now to Then,
and my favorite episode is called Going to the Future.
5. I thought it was weird that he called his new airplane
Honey.
6. Gone with the Wind is a great book.
7. I just sent for tickets to the play The Book of Mormon.
8. There was an article in The New York Times called
Children and Technology.
9. I subscribe to Time magazine.
10. Hey! That boat is named Sue, just like you!
See Appendix G for the answers.
A quotation, of course, can be more than one sentence
long. If it is, do not put quotes around every sentence.
Just put quotes at the beginning of the quote and again
at the end. If a single quote by one person goes on for
more than one paragraph, put quotes at the beginning of
the quote and at the beginning of each paragraph, but at
the end of only the last paragraph (the end of the quote).
Dialogue
If you are writing dialogue, you need to begin a new
paragraph every time a different person speaks.
“I am going to the movies. Do you want to come
along?” Mary asked Joe.
Joe replied, “I don’t think so. I have so much to do.”
“Suit yourself,” said Mary, “but you are going to miss a
good one.”
Other Uses for Quotation Marks
There are several other rules for using quotes. We
already talked about using quotation marks for titles
in Section 9.9.
1. Quote a word or phrase that comes directly from
another person or source.
She said that she had a “secret magical plan” for
accomplishing her goal.
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2. You do not need to quote Yes and No.
When I ask the questions, please just answer yes or
no.
3. You do not need to quote well-known sayings, proverbs, or colloquial expressions.
It is raining cats and dogs.
You know that the early bird catches the worm!
4. Put quotation marks around slang expressions, or
words and phrases that are intentionally misspelled or
grammatically incorrect.
She replied that she had gotten the book at the
“liberry.”
5. Put quotation marks around a word or phrase that
has an unusual or “abnormal” place in a sentence.
I admire his “stick-to-it” attitude.
6. In Section 9.9, we talked about putting words used as
words and foreign words in italics. If you define a word,
put the definition in quotes.
The word defenestrate means “to throw out of a
window.”
7. If you use business or other jargon, put the word in
quotation marks the first time you use it.
We were unable to get the computer “booted up”
with the new operating system.
Jack said, “I didn’t do it.”
I read the short story, “Jack and Jill.”
Colons and semicolons always go outside the quotation marks.
She said, “I have had enough”; then she left the room.
Bring the following items “just in case”: toothbrush,
extra clothes, and a towel.
Question marks and exclamation points can go
either inside or outside quotation marks, depending
on the sentence.
He asked, “Are we there yet?” (Inside: quote is a
question.)
Did he say, “I hope we get there soon”? (Outside:
quote is not a question, but the whole sentence is.
Quote does not get a period.)
Did he ask, “Are we there yet?” (Inside: both quote
and sentence are questions.)
Exclamation points are treated exactly the same way.
Single Quotation Marks
Single quotation marks are used if you need quotes
inside of quotes. That is their only use, so do not use
single quotes for emphasis or for any of the reasons you
might use double quotes.
8. Use quotation marks after such verbs as marked and
labeled.
He said, “I just finished listening to ‘Take Five.’ I love
that song.”
The package was labeled “personal and confidential.”
She said, “I really love the song ‘Take Five.’” (Three
Quotation Marks with Other Punctuation
quotes in a row? Yes. The first is the ending quote
for the song. The other two are for the end of the
quote.)
Quotation marks are often used in combination with
other punctuation: commas, periods, question marks,
exclamation points, and possibly semicolons and colons.
Practice 74—
Quotation Marks
There are specific ways to use quotation marks with
other punctuation. I am giving you the American way
to do things. The British style is often different and
sometimes opposite of the American style.
Put quotation marks in the following sentences where
necessary. You may need to add other punctuation with
the quotation marks. Some of the sentences may be
correct as is.
Periods and commas always go inside the quotation
marks.
“I said I didn’t do it,” said Jack.
1. Judy said I think it is going to rain today.
2. Judy said that it will probably rain today.
Punctuation
3. Please just answer yes or no!
4. I hired her because of her I can do anything attitude.
5. It’s raining cats and dogs this morning.
6. Yesterday is one of my favorite Beatles songs she said
7. I am running late she said, and I will probably miss
the beginning of the movie.
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9.11. Ellipses ( . . . )
Personally, I don’t like ellipses—probably because I
never learned how to use them correctly. However,
fiction writers like to use them—and they do come in
handy. They are used to indicate an omission in a quote
or a trailing off at the end of a sentence.
9. The box was marked fragile, so I put it in the closet
right away.
An ellipsis consists of three periods with spaces between
each. If the omission occurs at the end of the sentence,
add the fourth period for the end of the sentence (or
another suitable end mark, such as a question mark).
10. Please do some backwards planning before you
complete these lesson plans.
If you are indicating trailing off at the end of the sentence, use the three periods only.
8. She asked me if I would like to see her new digs,
which she just painted and carpeted.
11. In his speech the valedictorian began with the following words: This is a day all you graduates will
remember. Wherever life takes us, we will remember the friends we made in this place.
12. I don’t think we can solve this problem he said I
think we will need to hire outside help.
See Appendix G for the answers.
“I think there are many reasons for this situation . . .
and the final reason is the most important.”
“. . . and it seems that the most important reason is
lack of action.”
She thought and thought about the mess she had
gotten herself into, sinking into deeper and deeper
despair . . .
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Chapter 9 Test
Punctuation
Punctuate the following sentences correctly. You can
use all the punctuation marks: periods, commas, semicolons, colons, parentheses, brackets, hyphens, dashes,
quotation marks, ellipses, question marks, underlining
(italics), and exclamation marks. There will sometimes
be options as to what punctuation you can use. Do your
best. Some sentences may be correct as they are.
1. I finished the project should I send it to you?
2. My coworker and her friends are coming to visit.
3. He said I heard the song Forget You.
4. Life of Pi didn’t win the Oscar.
15. The only four items on the agenda are budgets vacations report formats and marketing.
16. I did not do very well on the test however so I failed
the course.
17. The word collaborate means to work together.
18. He was very self confident when he went on
interviews.
19. My neighbor he was gone for five months sailed
around the world.
20. Please read the information on pages 60 85. (Place
the correct mark between the numbers.)
5. Bob was usually a quiet man however he screamed
upon entering the room.
21. My six and a half year old cousin looks like my sister.
6. To whom it may concern
23. I think you should pack these clothes for the trip a
suit shoes black brown and white socks and three
shirts.
7. I love the television show Detectives of New York
and my favorite episode is called The Man in the
Tan Shirt.
8. It is a cold rainy day.
9. This book which was written by William Golding is
my favorite.
10. The cookies that are on top of the table are for you
and your friends.
11. I decided not to attend the meeting and went to the
movies instead.
12. don’t know if I will ever get over this she said as her
voice trailed off.
13. I packed these three items for my hike water a jacket
and a knife.
14. I was born on August 10 1980 in Lincoln Nebraska.
22. Jean Smith MD has just started to work here.
24. Yes Elaine the party is at my house.
25. My address is 6800 Park St Albany New York 01987
please send my mail there not to my old address.
26. Although this food tastes terrible I will eat it anyway.
27. I failed the test because I didn’t study.
28. I am running late she said, and I will probably miss
the beginning of the movie
29. I love his can’t fail attitude.
30. I can’t believe since I didn’t do anything wrong that
I got fired.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Chapter 10
Capitalization
10.1. Introduction
Capitalization can be tricky. While the basic rules are
easy, you will always find something that makes you
stop and wonder. If you have a question about whether
or not a word or phrase should be capitalized, consult
a comprehensive style guide or dictionary. If there is
disagreement, be consistent in your capitalization if the
word(s) is used in the same context, whether or not you
decide to capitalize.
In this chapter we will go over some primary capitalization conventions, but mainly some of the more confusing aspects of capitalization.
10.2. The Basic Rules
Here are some easy ones:
1. Capitalize the first word of a sentence.
Always be consistent in your capitalization.
Also capitalize phrases or clauses that are used as complete sentences:
Enough said.
Also capitalize an independent question within a
sentence:
The question is Did you or did you not steal the car?
2. Always capitalize the pronoun I, as well as I’ve and
I’m and I’d.
3. Capitalize proper nouns and proper adjectives. A
common noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.
A proper noun is a specific person, place, thing, or
idea.
Common Noun
Proper Noun
boyMichael
school
Wilson High School
soup
Campbell’s soup
(Soup isn’t really part of the name.)
computer
Apple computer
(Computer isn’t part of the name,
unless you are talking about the company.)
theory
Theory of Relativity
newspaper
The New York Times
(The is actually part of the name, so it would
be capitalized. This is not always the case.)
magazine
Seventeen magazine
(In this case, magazine is not actually
part of the name of the magazine.
Therefore, it is not capitalized or italicized.
The next several rules are more specific rules about
proper nouns.
4. Capitalize cities, states, countries, continents, oceans,
islands, streets, mountains, forests, and regions of
the country
Examples: Boston, Massachusetts, France, Asia,
Pacific Ocean, Bahamas, Jones Street,
Rocky Mountains, Sherwood Forest,
New England, the Midwest
5. Capitalize the names of clubs, teams, and government bodies.
Examples: Boy Scouts, New York Mets, House of
Representatives
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6. Capitalize holidays, events, and historical periods.
Examples: Thanksgiving, Sonoma County Fair,
Bronze Age, Civil War
7. Capitalize the names of nationalities, races, and
peoples.
Examples: Japanese, Native American, Aztecs
8. Capitalize businesses and brand names
Examples: First Union Bank, Kleenex tissues
9. Capitalize the names of ships, trains, spacecraft, and
aircraft.
Examples: Mayflower, Gemini V, Spirit of St. Louis
10. Capitalize the names of buildings and other
structures.
Examples: Empire State Building, Hoover Dam
11. Capitalize the names of awards, monuments, and
memorials.
Examples: Nobel Peace Prize, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial.
12. Capitalize religions, holy books, and some deities.
Examples: Buddhism, the Bible, Allah, God
(Note that the word god is not capi-
talized when it refers to a mythological god.)
13. Capitalize planets, stars, constellations, and other
heavenly bodies
Practice 75—
Basic Capitalization Rules
Some of the words in these sentences should be capitalized and are not. Others are capitalized and should
not be. Circle any word that is incorrectly capitalized
or incorrectly not capitalized. Some sentences may be
correct as they are.
1. i love the Spring because the weather begins to get
warm.
2. The fourth of July is my favorite holiday.
3. i’m going to visit aunt Joyce in Florida over winter
break.
4. I think Mayor Jost will win the Election again.
5. I think there will be a full Moon tonight.
6. The Celtics Basketball Team won the championship
that year.
7. In history class, we are learning about the Greek
Gods.
8. Mike Scott is the new mayor of our city.
9. The President of the United States is about to make
a speech.
10. we traveled over the Rocky mountains on our vacation, and we stayed in a really nice Hotel.
11. The question is what time should we leave?
12. until we meet again.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Examples: Jupiter, the Milky Way, Orion’s Belt
(Note that sun, moon, and, often,
earth are not capitalized.)
14. Capitalize a person’s title if it comes before the name.
Examples: Mr. Jones, Dr. Abbott, Mayor Flynn, President Seymour.
15. Capitalize a word that shows a family relationship if
it comes before the name or is used in place of the
name.
Examples: Aunt Joan (but Joan, my aunt), Mom
(but my mom), Grandma Wallis (but my
grandma).
10.3. More Capitalization Rules
Here are some less obvious, but very important, capitalization rules:
Titles
There are several styles in capitalizing titles (book titles,
movie titles, chapter titles, headlines, etc.):
Capitalize the first word only.
Capitalize the first letter of every word.
Capitalize every letter.
The most common, and traditional style, however, is as
follows:
Capitalization
Capitalize the first letter of all words with these three
exceptions:
• Articles (a, an, the) unless the article is the first
or last word of the title. First and last words are
always capitalized.
• Coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or,
yet, and so—be careful because sometimes yet
and so can be used as adverbs).
• Prepositions of four letters or fewer (such as in,
out, by, with, for, as, to)
✎✎ Make sure you always capitalize the words is, am,
are, was, and other forms of the to be verb. They
are short, but they are verbs, and verbs are always
capitalized in titles.
Directions
Do not capitalize north, south, east, and west when they
are directions. However, do capitalize them when they
refer to a geographic area.
Head south down Broadway.
The population in the South is growing.
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period after it. Then, put a more appropriate closing.
Also, avoid the sentence Thank you in advance.
Earth
Many people feel that earth should always be capitalized (except when it refers to dirt), but this is not the
case. Earth is capitalized when it is used in a sentence
with other heavenly bodies that are capitalized.
Jupiter and Saturn are larger than Earth.
Otherwise, you can use lowercase for earth. Alternatively, you can choose to capitalize Earth when it is not
preceded by the article the.
Life on Earth is relatively new in the scheme of the
cosmos.
We need to save the resources of the earth for future
generations.
Seasons
The seasons are not capitalized. The months, days of the
week, and holidays are, but the seasons are not unless
they are part of a title.
He comes from southern California.
I would say that summer is my favorite season.
He is from the Midwest.
Are you going to the Snowflake Winter Festival next
weekend?
Letter/Email Salutations and Closings
The first words of both the greetings and closings of
letters/memos/emails are capitalized. Many times, all
the words in a greeting are capitalized because they are
titles or names.
Dear Mayor:
Dear Sir:
Dear Mr. Smith
Some “Common” Proper Nouns
A few words have become so common that they are no
longer capitalized:
french fries
roman numerals
✎✎ It is best to consult a dictionary to see if other words
such as these are capitalized.
To whom it may concern:
President of the United States and Other Titles
Sincerely yours,
Yours truly,
13. Thank you is not really an appropriate closing to a letter. If you say thank you, make it a sentence and put a
Titles are capitalized when they precede, and are thus
part of, a name. Otherwise, they are generally lowercase.
Listen carefully when Mayor Jones is speaking.
The mayor is speaking.
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An exception is President, but only when it refers to the
President of the United States.
The company president is resigning.
The speech was made by President Jones of ABC
Company.
Words That Come Before Numbers
Do not capitalize line, paragraph, page, note, step, and
size before a number. Do capitalize chapter, figure, room,
and most other words that precede numbers.
Refer to line 5.
You should vote to reelect President Jones.
See Chapter 7.
The President will be going by as the parade passes
the White House.
Go to page 550.
Departments
Company departments are generally not capitalized
unless they refer to the writer’s own company.
I spoke to the credit department about my bill.
The Advertising Department is meeting in five
minutes.
I am in Room 110.
This dress is a size 8.
Go back to step 10.
Hyphenated Words
If a capitalized word happens to be hyphenated, the second part of the word is not usually capitalized:
I live on Thirty-fourth Street.
School Courses
The names of languages are always capitalized in course
titles. Otherwise, general course topics are not capitalized, but the names of specific courses are capitalized.
I am taking French, math, World History II, art, and
science this semester.
Decades
Do not capitalize the names of decades and centuries
unless they are special expressions.
the twenties
the twenty-first century
the Roaring Twenties
Dog Breeds/Names
Dog breeds are generally not capitalized unless there
is a proper noun or adjective in the name. That word is
then capitalized.
German shepherd
Boston terrier
poodle
In a hyphenated word, capitalize only the part of the
word that is a proper noun or adjective:
He is a Spanish-speaking student.
I am going to a mid-December party.
Practice 76—
More Capitalization
Some of the words in these sentences should be capitalized and are not. Others are capitalized and should
not be. Circle any word that is incorrectly capitalized
or incorrectly not capitalized. Some sentences may be
correct as they are.
1. I like my French fries with ketchup, and my french
toast with butter only.
2. I did my report on the differences between Mars and
Earth.
3. (letter salutation) Dear sirs:
(letter closing) Yours truly,
4. We are voting for class President today.
5. Please turn to chapter 6, page 111.
6. I just found out I need to take an Algebra class to
graduate on time.
7. We need to stop the destruction of earth by controlling climate change.
Capitalization
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8. Sometimes I wish I lived back in the Thirties because
I love the fashion!
14. I am trying to make some irish stew for dinner
tomorrow night.
9. I heard that algebra II is a very difficult class.
15. I can tell from her accent that she is from the south.
10. My friend just wrote a book called The Color Of My
Dress is Blue.
16. Back to the future is one of my favorite movies.
11. Head East on North Street.
18. She moved to 445 West thirty-third Street.
12. I just adopted an Alaskan Malamute from the local
shelter.
13. The meeting is in room 715.
17. I was so young I barely remember president Carter.
19. She is from Mid-Texas.
20. I read A Tale of two Cities last week.
See Appendix G for the answers.
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Chapter 10 Test
Capitalization
Most of these sentences have capitalization errors:
words that should be capitalized and are not and words
that are capitalized that shouldn’t be. Circle all the capitalization errors in each sentence. Some sentences may
be correct as they are.
14. The question I always ask myself is Did I leave a big
enough tip?
1. My brothers both joined the United States army
when they graduated from high school.
17. Guess who’s Coming to Dinner was a very popular
movie decades ago.
2. I like to read The New York times every day.
3. I don’t really like Winter, but I enjoy going to the
Winter Festival in our town.
4. The answers to the questions in chapter 8 are on
page 122.
5. On St. Patrick’s day, my Mom and my cousin Frankie
go to the Parade.
6. I wrote to the complaint department at ABX Company to discuss my computer.
7. I am really excited about going to the middle east
next month with mom and dad.
8. I spoke to both a senator and mayor Blue last night.
9. I can see both Mars and the Moon tonight.
10. Polytheism refers to the belief in many gods rather
than just one.
11. I signed the letter with “Sincerely Yours.”
12. better luck next time!
13. I learned the roman numerals at Burke Elementary
school, but i don’t remember them any longer.
15. My new courses include Introduction to Music,
Advanced Calculus, and a Sociology course.
16. Please save the earth by taking care of it!
18. Love is all You Need was written by the beatles, a
very popular singing group in the Sixties.
19. You should head North to get home.
20.There were poodles, collies, Dalmations, and an
Irish Setter at the Animal Shelter today.
21. She is from an Italian-Speaking family, although she
speaks english very well.
22. My address is 4457 Twenty-Third Street, Portland,
Oregon.
23. I was a member of the Girl scouts when I was a child,
and I also took Piano Lessons from John Smith, ph.d.
24. I was amazed at the beauty of the Golden Gate
bridge when I visited California to see my cousin
Sue.
25. I work in the Human Resources Department, and
my job consists of interviewing recent College graduates for Sales jobs.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Chapter 11
Some Really Important Grammar Issues
11.1. Introduction
This is really the most important chapter in this book
because it most affects the way you write and speak.
However, you need to go through the rest of the book
to gain the background for understanding the issues
in this chapter. Some of the issues have been touched
upon in other chapters; others are new here.
11.2. Run-on Sentences
(and Fragments)
One of the most important things to do when you are
writing is to avoid run-on sentences. Another is to
avoid writing sentence fragments, although there is a
time and place for them (but not in formal writing).
Run-on Sentences
A run-on sentence can be any length. Some people
think a run-on sentence is just a really long sentence,
but a sentence can be a mile long and still be a perfectly
legitimate sentence, although perhaps not a very wellwritten one.
1. After I got up this morning, I went out for a run, and
then I came back and took the dog for a walk, and
then I ate breakfast and got dressed because I had
to go to work.
2. I read, my sister sewed.
Sentence 1 is not a run on, although it is very long and
not well written.
Sentence 2 is a run on.
A run on is a sentence that is actually two or more sentences that are strung together and not separated properly. Look at sentence 2 above. It contains two complete
sentences separated by a comma. YOU CANNOT
SEPAR ATE T WO COMPLETE SEN TENCES
WITH JUST A COMMA. Yes, I am yelling to make
my point here.
Here are some correct ways to separate sentences:
• You can put a period to separate them instead of the
comma, and then start the second one with a capital
letter. (I read. My sister sewed.)
• You can use the comma, but add a conjunction. (I
read, and my sister sewed.)
• You can use a semicolon if the sentences are closely
related. Do not use a capital letter after a semicolon.
(I read; my sister sewed.)
• You can use a colon if the second sentence is a result
of the first sentence or explains the first sentence. (I
read to my sister: she does not know how to read
yet.) Any of the other three ways to fix this sentence
would work just as well as using the colon, which
isn’t used too often to connect sentences.
There is never a right time to use a run-on sentence.
Fragments
Sentence fragments are words that are put together
and followed by a period, but that are not complete
thoughts. Sometimes writers use fragments for effect,
and that is okay, as long as they are aware that they are
fragments. If you are trying to pass something off as a
sentence, but it is a fragment, that is a problem. Usually
the fragments that a writer thinks might be a real sentence are dependent adverb clauses—the clauses that
begin with although, since, whenever, wherever, until,
and especially because.
Because I just met you yesterday is not a sentence.
You need to add a whole independent clause to it
to make it a sentence. This sentence is fine:
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Because I just met you yesterday, I cannot go in the
car with you.
I wouldn’t recommend using fragments in cover letters
or college essays. However, there is a time and a place
for a well-written fragment for effect. Many authors,
including me, use them in our books. Enough said.
(Fragment!)
Here is a sample paragraph from a short story that uses
two fragments for effect:
She was tall. Very tall. She made her way over to
the buffet line, and he couldn’t help staring at her.
He wanted to follow her and to say something witty.
Something to catch her attention.
Practice 77—
Run Ons and Fragments
Identify each group of words as either a proper sentence, a fragment, or a run on. Fragments and run ons
can be fixed in a number of ways. Try to fix the fragments and run ons.
1. I am getting ready to give a party on Friday night.
2. Since everyone will be bringing a snack to share.
3. I am providing drinks and some great desserts.
4. Many of my friends are coming, some of my neighbors are too.
5. Maybe having a costume party.
6. I am baking my specialty: chocolate chip apple pie.
7. Apples, cinnamon, chocolate chips, butter, all mixed
together.
8. Are you coming, I sent you an invitation and didn’t
hear back from you.
9. It is going to be a fun time.
10. Come.
See Appendix G for the answers.
11.3. Agreement
Agreement means that verbs agree in number with their
subjects, and pronouns agree in number and gender
with their antecedents. Huh? Okay. Let’s simplify that.
If your subject is singular, the verb that goes with that
subject must also be singular. If the subject is plural, its
verb must be plural. Yes, there are singular and plural
verb forms (generally the distinction is mostly in present tense): Take the verb run. You would say she runs.
But you would say they run. Runs, then, is the singular
form of the verb, since it sounds right with he, a singular
pronoun. We don’t say he run; we say they run, because
run is the plural form of the verb. It is the opposite of
nouns. The noun with the -s at the end is the plural one
(usually), but the plural verb form is generally the one
without the -s.
The purpose of a pronoun is to take the place of a noun
or another pronoun. The antecedent is the word that
the pronoun is taking the place of. The pronoun must
agree in both number (singular or plural) and gender
(male or female) with its antecedent:
Judy brought her suitcase. Judy is singular and
female, so we use her to replace it; we don’t use
him (male) or they (plural).
Usually agreement is pretty simple, and we do it right
just because it “sounds right” that way. And while that
is true, there are some issues that make it more complicated than it seems. We will discuss those in the following sections.
Interrupting Words and Phrases with Subject/
Verb Agreement
Sue goes to college. (Goes is singular and agrees
with Sue.)
Sue, along with her brother and her cousins, goes to
college. (still singular)
Sue, accompanied by her brother, goes to dance lessons. (still singular)
Phrases such as along with, together with, as well as, in
addition to, accompanied by, including, except, and and
not do not make a singular subject plural.
If you have a positive subject and then a negative subject, the verb agrees with the positive subject:
Sue, but not her brothers, is going to college. (still
singular)
Important Grammar Issues 2
Prepositional and other phrases inserted between subject and verb also do not change the number of the
subject:
The photographer for the three weddings has not
been selected. (singular)
The painting that we ordered when we ordered the six
frames has not arrived yet. (still singular)
John or his brother is going with us. (singular: one
or the other one)
The boys or the girls are going first. (plural: It is
either boys or girls and each is plural by itself.)
What about this one, where one subject is singular and
the other is plural?
Practice 78—
Agreement
Either the girl or her brothers ____ going with us. Is
this one is (singular) or are (plural)? It is plural.
In this case, the verb agrees with the noun closer
to it. So,
Choose the verb that agrees with the subject.
Either the girls or the boy is going with us is also
1. Mary, along with her three brothers, (is, are) going
to college in New England.
2. They (walk, walks) three miles every morning.
3. The dresses for the wedding party (has, have) not yet
been chosen.
4. The pizza, in addition to the salad and desserts, (is,
are) dinner for tonight.
5. The dog that I adopted when I still had the other two
dogs (live, lives) in the garage at night.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Using and, or, neither, either Between Subjects
Two (or more) subjects joined by and will always be plural, even if each one is singular on its own, because we
are adding them together:
Jack and Jill are going up the hill. (plural)
The boy and the girl are going up the hill. (plural)
Both the boy and the girls are going up the hill.
(plural)
Both the boys and the girl are going up he hill.
(plural)
Both the boys and the girls are going up the hill.
(plural)
Two subjects joined by or or nor can be either singular
or plural depending on the subjects. We are not adding
them together, as we do with and. Look at the following
examples:
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correct because this time the singular subject
(boy) is closer to the verb.
Practice 79—
More Agreement
Choose the correct verb that agrees with the subject(s).
1. John and his friends (is, are) going fishing on
Saturday.
2. Either John or Uncle Fred (is, are) renting a boat.
3. Either Juliet or her sister (has, have) your books.
4. Either the red dress with the bows or the three green
shirts (was, were) on sale, but I don’t remember
which!
5. Neither the trumpet players nor the tuba player (is,
are) tuned up yet.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement
All the rules in the preceding section apply to pronoun/
antecedent agreement, as well as subject/verb agreement. Look at these examples:
Judy, along with her friends, is bringing her suitcase.
(singular)
Judy, accompanied by her friends, is going to her
prom. (singular)
Judy, but not her friends, is going to her prom.
(singular)
The painting that we ordered when we ordered the
three frames is in its box. (singular)
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Either Judy or her sister is bringing her guitar.
(singular)
Either Judy or her sisters are bringing their guitars.
(plural)
Either her sisters or Judy is bringing her guitar.
(singular)
What about this?
Either Judy or her brother is bringing ____ guitar.
these pronouns are singular, some are plural, and others can be either singular or plural.
1. Everyone, everything, everybody, anyone, anything,
anybody, someone, something, somebody, no one, nothing, nobody, each, neither, either, nothing, and one are
singular.
Everyone is bringing his or her suitcase.
Everyone is singular. The verb is agrees and is also singular. The pronoun his or her, which refers back to everyone agrees because it is also singular.
One is female and the other is male. What do we do?
How about just saying a guitar ? Rewriting to avoid an
issue is often the best solution.
Most people would say
Sentences That Begin with There
Is this okay? Their is plural, but everyone is singular.
Even though a sentence may begin with the word there,
there is never a subject. In this type of sentence, the
subject will be right after the verb, so you can figure out
if the verb should be singular or plural by looking at the
noun or pronoun after the verb.
Yes and no. The English language doesn’t have one word
for the singular that can be either male or female. Of
course, if we know that only girls are going, we can easily say her suitcase. Problem solved. But if both girls
and boys are going, we have no singular word for that
without using his or her.
There are three books on that shelf. Yes, plural.
There is three books on that shelf. No, not singular.
Practice 80—
More Agreement
Choose the correct answer for each sentence:
1. Ellen, along with her sisters, (is bringing her lunch,
are bringing their lunches).
2. Either my cousin or my uncles (is taking his vacation,
are taking their vacations) in France.
3. There (is, are) three pieces of pizza left in the box.
4. Either John or Kate is singing in (his, her, his or her,
their) first concert ever!
5. There (is, are) not many apples left on the tree.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns probably present the biggest issue
with pronoun/antecedent agreement. We have discussed these pronouns before (Section 6.7). Some of
Everyone is bringing their suitcase.
It is perfectly fine and correct to use his or her. It is
also now acceptable (in some style guides and to some
people) to use their as a singular in this case. I wouldn’t
recommend using their in the singular in a formal letter
or college application.
Avoid using he/she, (s)he, or alternating between he
and she. The best thing to do is to rewrite; why not just
say
Everyone is bringing a suitcase.
2. Both, few, several, and many are indefinite pronouns
that are plural:
Several are bringing their suitcases.
Few are bringing their suitcases.
Both are bringing their suitcases.
Many are bringing their suitcases.
3. All, any, more, most, none, and some can be either
singular or plural, depending upon how they are used.
Usually they are followed by a prepositional phrase.
Look at the noun in that phrase. The verb generally
agrees with the noun in the phrase.
All of the pie is gone.
Important Grammar Issues 2
All of the cookies are gone.
Any of the children can take their naps.
Any of the cake is available to cut.
More of the pizza is gone than left on the plate.
More of the pieces have been eaten.
Most of the cake is gone.
Most of the cookies are gone.
None of the pizza is left.
None of the pieces are left.
The band are tuning their instruments.
In the above example, we used a plural verb and a plural
pronoun, thus assuming that band is plural. Is it?
Collective nouns are singular when they are thought of
as a single unit. They are considered plural when we
are talking about the members of the collective noun as
individuals rather than a unit.
The band are tuning their instruments. (Plural: They
are acting as individuals.)
The band is having a party after the show. (Singular:
They are having a party together, as a unit.)
Some of the people have left.
Can you see the difference in these sentences?
Some of the crowd has gone.
My family is coming over for Christmas dinner.
One of is generally singular.
One of my books is missing.
Singular Nouns That Look Plural
News, mathematics, thermodynamics, and other such
words that end in -s are singular, although they may
look plural. So, we use singular verbs with them.
The news is good.
Mathematics is my favorite subject.
Collective Nouns
We discussed collective nouns in Section 1.2. They are
nouns that, while singular, represent a group. They can
generally also be made plural. Here are some singular
forms of collective nouns:
group, band, family, flock, class, herd, tribe, bunch,
committee, clan, club, pack, cast
People usually use singular verbs and pronouns with
these words:
The band is playing in the parade.
The class is having its party today.
However, there is a distinction to be made, and sometimes these collective nouns are plural. When we use
plural verbs to agree with them, however, sometimes
we sound wrong because most everyone just uses them
as singular all the time. Check this out:
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My family are coming from all over the country to
visit us for Christmas.
In the first sentence the family is a unit, all coming over
together. In the second sentence, the individuals in the
family are being talked about, since they are coming
from different places; they are not a unit.
Will the sky fall if you use a singular verb with a collective
noun? No. In fact, if you use a plural, it may sound wrong
to some people. However, it is correct to make the distinction between singular and plural collective nouns.
A Quirky Little Issue
All the girls wore a gown to the prom.
Be careful here. Did all the girls wear the same gown?
The sentence is confusing. The correct way to say or
write this sentence is
All the girls wore gowns to the prom.
Practice 81—
More Agreement
Choose the correct answer in the following sentences:
1. The news about my dogs (is, are) good.
2. One of these songs (is, are) my favorite.
3. Everyone who has a ticket can take (his or her, their)
seat now.
4. Few (is, are) selected to be in the show.
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5. Many of my friends (is, are) coming to the party.
6. Most of the pizza (is, are) gone.
7. The vase, along with all the flowers, (was, were)
thrown away.
8. None of the boys (is, are) old enough to drive.
9. (Is, Are) physics or economics you favorite subject?
Correct any of the following sentences that isn’t already
correct:
10. All of the bridesmaids wore a purple dress.
11. The band are tuning up their instruments.
12. My company is having a picnic on Friday.
13. The family is all going their separate ways for Christmas this year.
14. One of the men are wearing a red hat.
15. All of the students are carrying a dog.
See Appendix G for the answers.
11.4. Comparison
Adjectives and adverbs have comparative and superlative forms, used for comparison:
I am taller than you.
First of all, remember to use than in comparisons, not
then. Then is an adverb that has to do with time.
Use the comparative form of the adjective or adverb
when comparing two items.
I am taller than you.
Use the superlative form of the adjective or adverb
when comparing three or more items.
I am the tallest of the three of us brothers.
Forming Comparatives and Superlatives
One-syllable adjectives and adverbs:
• Add -er to adjectives and adverbs to form the comparative: taller, smaller, colder, warmer, hotter, sooner
• Add -est to adjectives and adverbs to form the superlative: tallest, smallest, coldest, warmest, hottest,
soonest
✎✎ There are, of course, exceptions. One of them is fun.
There is no funner or funnest! It is more fun and most
fun.
Two-syllable adjectives and adverbs:
• Most add -er for comparative. If they end in -y, the
y generally changes to an i, thus making the ending
-ier. Others have no form ending in -er (particularly
adverbs). In that case, use more for comparative:
funnier, prettier, lonelier, more sudden, more quickly,
more slowly.
• Most add -est for superlative. If they end in -y the y
generally changes to an i, thus making the ending -iest.
Others have no form ending in -est. In that case use
most for superlative: funniest, prettiest, loneliest, most
sudden, most quickly, most slowly.
✎✎ If there is a form that ends in -er or -est, use it. Do
not use more or most before the adjective unless no
-er or -est form exists. Consult your dictionary to
find out. For example, do not say more happy, since
there is the correct word happier.
✎✎ Avoid double comparisons: Do not say more happier.
Three-syllable or more adjectives and adverbs:
Use more and most before the adjective or adverb:
more beautiful, most adventurous, more happily,
most glorious.
✎✎ Adjectives that end in a suffix such as -ous or -ful will
never have an -er or -est ending. Use more or most.
For example, more wonderful, not wonderfuler.
What If It Isn’t More? What If It Is Less?
If you are going the other direction in your comparison,
always use less for comparative and least for superlative:
I am less intelligent than you are.
My brother is the least intelligent of us all.
This ride is less fun than that one.
This ride is the least fun of all.
I am less pretty than my sister.
My cousin is the least pretty of the three of us.
I snore less quietly than my brother.
My sister snores the least quietly of us all.
Important Grammar Issues 2
Irregular Forms
There are some adjectives and adverbs that add neither
-er/-est or more/most to make them comparative or
superlative. Here are some:
good
better
best
bad
worse
worse
many
more
most
Faulty Comparisons
Look at this sentence:
She likes pizza more than me!
What does the sentence mean? Does it mean she likes
pizza more than I like pizza? Or does it mean that she
likes pizza more than she likes me?
Well, you probably would think it means that she likes
pizza more than I like pizza. And that is usually the
intention of the writer. However, the sentence actually
means that she likes pizza more than she likes me.
When you write a comparison like the one above, put in
the missing words, if even just in your head. Then, you will
use the correct pronoun. Compare these two sentences:
She likes pizza more than I like pizza.
She likes pizza more than she likes me.
If you are writing a comparison like this, you can leave
out the words, but pretend they are there to figure out
which pronoun to use:
She likes pizza more than I. (more than I like pizza)
She likes pizza more than me. (more than she
likes me)
Practice 82—
Comparison
Choose the correct answer:
1. She is the (taller, tallest) of the two sisters.
2. She likes school more than (I, me).
3. She says she likes me, but I really think she likes my
sister more than (I, me).
4. You would be (more smart, more smarter, smarter)
if you used more common sense!
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5. The roller coaster was (funner. more fun) than the
Ferris wheel.
6. Which do you like (least, less), poetry or opera?
7. This doll is (fragiler, more fragile) than that one.
8. Who makes (more, the most) money, you or your
brother?
9. Of all the types of food, I know (less, the least) about
Asian food.
10. He talks (louder, more loudly) when he is angry.
11. The poodle is the (taller, tallest, most tall) of the six
dogs here.
12. The weather is (more worse, worse, worser) today
than it was yesterday.
13. He is the (less, least) adventurous of the two of us.
14. She is shorter than (I, me).
15. My older brother is (more truthful, truthfuler, most
truthful) than my twin brother.
See Appendix G for the answers.
11.5. Misplaced Modifiers
One of the easiest mistakes to make when you are writing is the misplaced or dangling modifier. A modifier is
a word or phrase (or clause) that describes or modifies
something. Adjectives and adverbs are modifiers.
Participles are, if you remember from Section 3.4, adjectives that come from verbs. Prepositional phrases (Section 3.2) are also modifiers and can be used as adjectives
or adverbs. And it is participles and prepositional
phrases that are most often misplaced.
In the English language, it is assumed that modifiers
are placed near what they are modifying, or describing.
Look at these sentences:
Sitting in my lap, my cat yawned and stretched.
Laughing, she ran down the hill.
She heard on the news that there was a big parade
on Thanksgiving.
These sentences are all correct. Now look at these
sentences:
Reading a book by the window, my cat scratched
my hand.
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Laughing, that joke seemed very funny to me.
She heard about the parade on the news.
These sentences are all incorrect. The modifiers are misplaced (not near what they are modifying in the sentence)
or dangling (not modifying anything in the sentence).
The first sentence says that the cat is reading a book by
the window. The participial phrase reading a book by
the window is dangling because it doesn’t describe anything in the sentence. It is meant to describe I, but there
is no I in the sentence. Note that it doesn’t describe my
hand, because my hand wasn’t reading either! Here is
one of the ways to correct the sentence:
5. Growling loudly, I knew it was time to feed my hungry dog.
6. Freshly baked, I took the cookies out of the oven.
7. Looking around, I spotted my cousins in the crowd.
8. Many of the people in the audience after her performance congratulated her and gave her flowers.
9. At 5 p.m. next Monday, the employees who attended
the meeting said there would be a follow-up
discussion.
10. Take this big bag and go to the library with all the
books.
See Appendix G for the answers.
While I was reading a book by the window, my cat
scratched my hand.
The second sentence says that the joke was laughing.
However, I was laughing. Here are some ways to correct the sentence:
Laughing, I thought the joke was funny.
11.6. Possessives
Possessives are forms of nouns and pronouns that show
ownership. Most of the time, making a noun possessive
is pretty simple, but some problems can arise.
I laughed because I thought the joke was funny.
Singular Nouns
I laughed at the funny joke.
Add an apostrophe and an s to most singular nouns to
make them possessive.
The third sentence says that the parade was on the news.
The prepositional phrase on the news is in the wrong
place. Most anyone reading the sentence would probably understand what you meant, but it really isn’t written correctly. Here is a way to fix the sentence:
On the news I heard about the parade.
It is very easy to unintentionally put misplaced modifiers in your writing, so be very careful!
Practice 83—
Misplaced Modifiers
boy—the boy’s toy
book—the book’s plot
dog—the dog’s bone
✎✎ Sometimes you have what looks like a compound
possessive. Here is what you do:
My mom and dad’s new car is in the driveway. (Just
make the last noun possessive because it belongs
to both of them.)
My mom’s and dad’s new cars are in the driveway.
(Make them both possessive, since cars is plural;
they each have a new car.)
Some of the following sentences are correct; others have
some type of misplaced or dangling modifier. Identify
which sentences are incorrect and fix them if you can.
There are always multiple ways to fix a sentence.
Plural Nouns
1. He read from his new book wearing glasses.
Add just an apostrophe to plural nouns that end in s.
2. I heard about the volcano on the evening news.
boys—the boys’ toys (belonging to more than one
3. While still in diapers, my mother went back to college.
boy)
4. Forgetting I had a cake in the oven, I took the dog
for a walk.
books—the books’ plots (belonging to more than
one book)
Important Grammar Issues 2
dogs—the dogs’ bones (belonging to more than
one dog)
buses—the buses’ routes (belonging to more than
one bus)
Add apostrophe and s to plurals that end in something
other than s.
children—children’s toys
men—men’s suits
mice—mice’s cheese
Words That Already End in -s
Some singular words end in -s or even -ss. These words
are generally treated the same as any other noun. To
form the possessive, you still add an apostrophe and
an s (you can usually go by how you pronounce the
possessive).
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John Smart’s book
Annie Green’s dress
How about plural possessive last names? First, you need
to figure out how to make the name plural. Then you
need to figure out how to make that possessive. (Once
again it is best to go by how you would pronounce the
name.) Of course, you can always rewrite to avoid having to use the possessive (often the best idea).
The Thomases’ house (singular: Thomas, plural:
Thomases)
The Gonzaleses’ house (singular: Gonzales, plural:
Gonzaleses)
The Greens’ house (this one is easy)
To avoid the situation?
The Thomas family’s house
The house that belongs to the Gonzales family
boss—boss’s (belonging to the boss)
bosses—bosses’ (belonging to more than one boss)
Note that the two words above are pronounced the
same, but spelled differently. One is singular possessive
and the other plural possessive.
princess—princess’s (belonging to one princess)
princesses—princesses’ (belonging to more than
one princess)
Thomas—Thomas’s (belonging to Thomas)
Mr. Douglass—Mr. Douglass’s (belonging to
Mr. Douglass)
Words that end in -x actually have an -s sound at the end
and are treated the same way:
fox—fox’s (belonging to the fox)
foxes—foxes’ (belonging to more than one fox)
Last Names
Last names can be tricky because when you make them
possessive, you are often also making them plural.
First, let’s look at some singular possessives:
Jean Thomas’s desk
Exceptions
Some words that end in -s do not add an apostrophe and
an s to make the possessive. These are the exceptions.
Words and names that end in -es with the sound of -ez
add simply an apostrophe. Here are some examples:
Socrates—Socrates’ (belonging to Socrates)
Hercules—Hercules’ (belonging to Hercules)
✎✎ Note that Jesus and Moses are also exceptions and
simply add an apostrophe for the possessive: Jesus’
and Moses’
Possessive Pronouns
Here are the possessive pronouns:
my, mine, our, ours, your, yours, his, her, hers, its,
their, theirs, whose
Notice that none of them has an apostrophe in it.
Remember this next time you are confused about its
versus it’s.
✎✎ Please do not put apostrophes in your plain old plural words, because you will usually be wrong. There
are very few plurals that have apostrophes (see
Section 11.10).
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Practice 84—
Possessives
Choose the correct answer:
1. This is Mr. (Glass’, Glass’s, Glasses) book.
2. This is my older (brothers’, brother’s, brothers)
motorcycle.
3. Our new house has room for a (childrens’, children’s)
playroom.
4. The cat hasn’t finished (its, it’s, its’) food yet.
5. These are my three (sisters, sister’s, sisters’, sisters’s)
rooms.
6. This is my (boss’, boss’s) office.
7. We read about (Socrates’s, Socrates, Socrates’) ideas
in this course.
Here is an example that is a little more complicated:
Jon felt that to do well in his new job he had to
impress his boss by writing his reports on time, by
answering all his e-mails in a timely manner, and to
be courteous to his customers. (Make it parallel by
saying by being courteous to his customers.)
Here is another example:
Sarah thought that she was being a good parent
when she let her kids do whatever they wanted and
not telling them when they made bad choices.
Here is the same sentence with parallel construction:
Sarah thought that she was being a good parent
when she let her kids do whatever they wanted and
when she kept quiet when they made bad choices.
8. That house on the corner is (ours, our’s).
9. (Who’s, Whose, Who’se) new car is that?
Parallel Structure in Lists
10. This is the (Clarks, Clark’s, Clarks’ house), where five
children and their parents live.
It is important to make your lists parallel. If one of your
list items is a compete sentence, all your items should
be complete sentences. If all items are phrases, they
should be constructed in the same way. Here is a list
that is not parallel.
11. My (horses, horse’s) stable is right over there.
12. (John and Jane’s, John’s and Jane’s) house is across
the street.
13. (John and Jane’s, John’s and Jane’s) houses are across
the street from each other.
14. (My mother and father, My mother and father’s, My
mother’s and father’s) new car is red.
In this class, you will learn
• how to use the new software
• how to design a newsletter
15. (Her’s, hers) is the green gown.
• how to use special effects
See Appendix G for the answers.
• writing effective text
11.7. Parallel Structure
What do we mean by parallel structure? Let’s look at a
simple example of a sentence that is not written with
parallel structure:
My friends and I like shopping, going to movies, and
to hike.
When you are writing about similar things you need to
use similar structure. Shopping and going are parallel,
but to hike is a different grammatical construction. It is
not parallel. This sentence is parallel:
My friends and I like shopping, going to the movies,
and hiking.
• how to publish your newsletter
You would change writing effective text to how to write
effective text.
Practice 85—
Parallel Structure
All of the following have problems with parallel structure. Identify the problems and rewrite them correctly.
1. I love shopping, going to the movies, and to eat out.
2. I thought I would do well on the exam because I
memorized all the words and that I made flashcards.
Important Grammar Issues 2
3. Here are the things you need to do: Go to the library.
Returning all the phone messages. Pick up the groceries. Take out the trash.
4. Here is the agenda for the meeting:
• Introduce new members
• Reading the minutes
• Discuss new issues
• Review old issues
• Close the meeting
5. Whenever I think of you I remember when we went
fishing and going to that concert at midnight.
See Appendix G for the answers.
11.8. Using Numbers:
When to Spell Them Out
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5. Really large numbers, over a million, for example,
may be expressed as follows:
The company sold 21 million widgets last year.
6. If a day comes before the month (or stands by itself )
use an ordinal, either spelled out or numeric.
The 6th of September OR
The sixth of September
7. If a day comes after the month, the number is used.
September 6, 2000
Refer to Section 8.7 for information about commas with
dates.
8. Sometimes well-known numbers and dates of graduation are abbreviated.
The blizzard of ’09
The class of ’75
Numbers. We could write a whole book about them,
but let’s keep it short and simple. The basic rules are
as follows:
9. Money is usually expressed in figures.
• In technical and scientific writing, write out numbers through nine, and use numerals (10) for all
numbers higher than nine.
10. For amounts less than a dollar, use the numeral and
the word cents.
• In formal writing, nontechnical, and more literary
writing, spell out all numbers up through ninety-nine.
11. Spell out approximate amounts.
Here are some other rules for using numbers:
1. In tables and diagrams, generally use numerals
(numbers).
2. If you have two numbers referring to the same thing
in a sentence, treat them both the same way, either
both written out or both numerals.
There are 9 girls and 21 boys in the group.
This is not necessary if the numbers refer to different
things:
There are 350 children in the school and they each
have four textbooks.
3. Never begin a sentence with a numeral. Rewrite the
sentence or spell out the number.
Four hundred students graduated today.
4. If you have two numbers in a row, rewrite the sentence or separate them with a comma.
In 2009, 435 people worked for the company,
We made $59 at our garage sale.
This fan costs only 75 cents.
We have a few hundred dollars.
12. As a rule, we spell out fractions.
I have two-thirds of a pizza left.
✎✎ Some style guides tell you to hyphenate the fraction
only if it is an adjective directly before a noun. You
can decide this one. For example,
We need a three-fourths majority to pass the rule.
Three fourths of the people voted to pass the rule.
13. Measurements should generally be expressed in
numerals, even if they are below 10.
The room is 5 feet wide and 9 feet long.
14. Birthdays and anniversaries are generally spelled out.
We are celebrating our tenth anniversary.
15. References to periods of time are generally spelled out:
We bought the house thirty years ago.
16. More technical timeframes are often numerals.
My new job requires a 45-hour workweek.
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17. Centuries can be either spelled out or expressed as
numerals:
I remember the 1970s well.
I remember the seventies well.
18. When expressing time, always use numerals with
a.m. and p.m.
Meet me at 3:45 p.m.
However, if there is no time mentioned, use morning or
evening; do not use p.m. or a.m.
Meet me in the morning.
If a.m. or p.m. is not mentioned, you can spell out the
time or use numerals.
Meet me at eight.
Meet me at 8:00.
19. Write decimals as numbers.
I measured the window as 35.7 inches wide.
20. For percentages, use numbers, but spell out percent
unless it appears in a table or figure, in which case
you can use the percent symbol (%).
Only 7 percent of the class received an A.
21. If you refer to a number as itself, always use a figure:
Please count to 99.
1. The class is made up of nine boys and 18 girls.
2. 350 people were in the audience.
3. My birthday is on September 6th.
4. There are a total of 450 diagrams in the science book.
5. I have only $.50 left in my pocket because I spent
twenty-five dollars at the movies.
6. There are over 3,000,000 people in our county.
7. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m.
8. I am a member of the class of ’75.
9. ¾ of the class is on a sports team.
10. I moved to California thirty years ago.
11. I got a score of 85 percent on my project.
12. The answer to the math question is 31.66.
13. I have a problem writing 5’s so that you can read
them!
14. The total count is 150, 50 of whom are teenagers.
15. There are sixty five poems in this anthology.
16. Could you please write your two’s more clearly.
17. He has been working 16-hour workdays!
18. My room measures 8 feet wide by 12 feet long.
19. I begin my workday at nine a.m.
20. I begin my workday at 8 in the morning.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Add 30 and 64, and then multiply by 7.
22. To make a number plural, add s. NO apostrophe,
please.
The 1990s was a good decade for me.
It was in the 70s all day today.
23. When spelling out numbers, hyphenate all numbers
between twenty-one and ninety-nine whether the
number stands alone or is part of a greater number:
twenty-seven
twenty-seven thousand
11.9. Double Negatives
There are negatives, and then there are double negatives. No and not are often part of a negative sentence.
I have no bananas.
I do not have any bananas.
Even though two wrongs don’t make a right, two negatives do make a positive. Sometimes you might purposely use two negatives. Other times you might use a
double negative by mistake.
I cannot sit here and say nothing.
Practice 86—
Numbers
Many of the following sentences have mistakes using
numbers. Some of the sentences may be correct as they
are. Find and correct the mistakes.
That sentence is a perfectly good double negative. It
means that you want to say something. It comes out as
a positive.
I can’t say nothing about that.
Important Grammar Issues 2
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This sentence is likely incorrect. The writer probably
means I can’t say anything about that.
5. There are no words for this situation.
Here are some sentences in which the double negative
is probably incorrect:
6. Please don’t wait and end up doing nothing about it.
I don’t need no pencil. (I don’t need a pencil?)
I can’t see no one. (I can’t see anyone?)
She don’t have no children. (She doesn’t have any
children?)
There are some words that don’t sound like negative
words, but they are, so do not use another negative with
them by mistake.
Barely, hardly, and scarcely are negative words:
I can’t barely see anything in the dark theater.
(Should be I can barely see anything in the dark
theater.)
7. They don’t have any more candy left.
8. No animals were harmed in this experiment.
See Appendix G for the answers.
11.10. Apostrophes in Plurals
I have one word to say about putting apostrophes in
plurals: DON’T!
(Should be I can scarcely read the writing because it
is so small.)
There are very few exceptions. The great majority of the
time there is no apostrophe in a plural. Apostrophes go
in possessives, not plurals (unless the plural is possessive, of course. See Section 11.6.)
I can’t hardly believe it is you!
(Should be I can hardly believe it is you!)
When should you use an apostrophe in a plural? Answer:
When not doing so would cause confusion.
I can’t scarcely read the writing because it is so small.
✎✎ I suppose that if you use three negatives in a sentence, the sentence goes back to having a negative
meaning, but I wouldn’t try it:
I can’t barely see nothing in this dark theater.
Practice 87—
Double Negatives
Some of the sentences below contain incorrect double
negatives. Some of the sentences are correct. Correct
the incorrect sentences:
1. I don’t want no more pizza.
2. I can hardly see anything.
3. We couldn’t scarcely see in the fog.
4. I didn’t barely eat anything for dinner.
• With the capital letters A, I, and U:
I got all A’s on my report card.
You have too many I’s beginning your sentences.
There are two U’s on that sign.
• With lowercase letters or abbreviations for clarity.
However, note that if you are using a letter or word
as itself, you would italicize the word but not the s
on the end.
Don’t forget to dot your i’s.
Are you still wearing your pj’s?
That is just about it. No other plurals need to be written
with apostrophes including numbers.
Remember the 1990s?
She must be in her 60s.
She must be in her sixties.
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Practice 88—
Plurals with Apostrophes
The Lonely Which
Some of these sentences are correct. Others have errors
with apostrophes. Circle any incorrect plurals.
adjective clause that describes a noun or pronoun that
precedes it. Here is an example:
1. I took these photo’s this morning.
2. You put too many as in the word accommodate.
3. I am too young to remember the 1950’s.
4. My godmother is in her sixties’.
5. This is my little sister’s doll.
6. My cousin’s are coming to visit us next month.
7. Does the baby know her ABC ’s yet?
8. The book takes place in the ’80s.
9. This dollhouse belongs to the girls’.
10. I never get any Ds on my report card.
See Appendix G for the answers.
11.11. Let’s Be Clear:
Avoiding Vagueness
Writing can be vague or unclear in several ways. Most
of the ways we will discuss here have to do with words
that refer to something we are not quite sure about.
Which is one of those pronouns that is used to begin an
I bought this painting, which is by a local artist.
Which refers back to painting.
However, sometimes when which is used, we don’t really
know what it is referring back to. Technically, which
should refer back to a word, rather than an entire idea.
Here is an unclear which.
We went to France, where we ate real French food
and stayed in French country cottages, which made it
the best trip I have ever taken.
Which is a little fuzzy in the above sentence. Here is a
clearer use of which:
The best trip I ever took was to France last summer,
where I ate authentic French food, which was prepared by the owners of the little French cottages we
stayed in.
In the above sentence, it is clear that which refers to the
food.
Unclear People
This and It
We might begin a sentence with this or it. While in certain situations, that may be all right in itself, if we don’t
know what this or it is referring to, there will be a problem. Look at this paragraph, for example:
Last summer my family and I visited relatives in
France. We stayed for three weeks and wished we
could have stayed longer. While we didn’t visit Paris,
we did see many of the small villages in the countryside. We got to eat real French food, prepared by the
villagers, and we got to stay in small country cottages.
This made it the best trip I have ever taken.
What made what the best trip? Here is a better way to
write the ending to this paragraph:
Eating real French food, prepared by the villagers, and
staying in small country cottages made this trip to
France the best trip I have ever taken.
Sometimes he and she (and other personal pronouns
too) can be confusing and unclear.
When Betsy passed Lucy waking down the street, she
waved.
Who waved? Betsy? Lucy? We have no idea unless the
sentence is rewritten.
Betsy waved as she passed Lucy walking down the
street.
When Betsy passed by her, Lucy waved.
Practice 89—
Clarity
Find the word (or words) that are unclear and underline it (them). Then, rewrite the sentence(s) to make it
(them) clear. Some sentences may be fine as they are.
1. I had a good time on the trip, which was important.
2. I saw Ben and Joe on the rollercoaster, and he waved.
Important Grammar Issues 2
3. Holding up a pretty blue dress, Mary said, “This is
the dress I was talking about.”
4. Which of these two books did you write?
5. I saw two movies last week, which were pretty good.
6. Joe saw his cousin at the park and he stopped to talk
to him.
7. I have a deadline at work, which is Tuesday.
8. I got a raise last year, and I think I will get a larger
raise this year. This is unheard of!
See Appendix G for the answers.
11.12. Can I Do These Things?
Writers (and speakers) often have questions about what
is okay to do and what is not. Sometimes what is okay
in a text or a memo, or in an informal conversation, is
not okay in formal writing and speaking. In this book,
we are mostly talking about more formal and academic/
business writing and speaking.
Use Abbreviations
It is best not to use too many abbreviations in formal
or academic writing. This includes resumes. Although
a resume needs to be concise, you don’t want to use too
many abbreviations. However, there are indeed some
things that are usually abbreviated. Here are some
guidelines for abbreviations:
1. Mr., Dr., Jr., Ms., and Mrs. are always abbreviated
when they are used as part of a name: Mr. Smith,
Dr. Lang, Henry Foster, Jr.
2. If a company uses an abbreviation in its name, write
the company name the same way they write it.
3. Abbreviations that consist of all capital letters generally do not have periods: FBI, CIA, ASPCA
4. If you want to use an abbreviation, for example, FBI,
spell it out the first time you use it and then put the
abbreviation in parentheses. After that, you can just
use the abbreviation: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
5. Names of academic degrees are generally abbreviated, except in very formal writing. And although
they often consist of capital letters, they do use
­periods: B.A., B.S., Ph.D. M.D., M.Ed, MBA (generally
does not have periods).
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6. Be consistent. Don’t go back and forth between
spelling out and abbreviating. If you write Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and then start to use
the abbreviation, use the abbreviation throughout
the whole piece of writing.
If you are compiling a graph, table, or illustration, and
you are using many abbreviations, make sure your audience will know what they mean, even if you have to give
them a guide.
Use Contractions
Like abbreviations, most contractions are best avoided
in formal writing. While you might want to use I’m,
can’t, she’s, etc., I would definitely avoid the contractions where have is shortened: would’ve, should’ve,
could’ve. I recommend spelling those out.
Use Slang
Slang; shortened spellings; trite, overused, general
words: These have no place in your writing:
1. If you must use a lot, remember it is two words.
Avoid it whenever possible.
2. Good, bad, great : There must be a more colorful and
specific adjective you could use. Same goes for nice
and fun.
3. Stuff, things, bunch: Rid your writing of these words.
Use bunch only if you are talking about bananas.
4. Really and very are also boring. How about extremely,
particularly, exceedingly, or some other more
descriptive adverb?
5. Cool, awesome, and whatever is the newer version
of these words have no place in formal writing. You
can use them in dialogue in fiction, or in informal
writing.
6. Gonna, coulda, woulda, shoulda, ’cuz, nite, and lite
are not words at all. In dialogue or some type of
informal or humor writing, be my guest.
Start a Sentence with And, So, or But
Many people say that you shouldn’t start a sentence
with a conjunction. Most people today think it is fine.
I have mixed feelings about it. I still wouldn’t use it on a
college or job application or a business letter. However,
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using and, so, or but at the beginning of a sentence can
have a certain effect you might want in fiction, creative
nonfiction, more informal writing, and certainly in promotional writing and advertisements.
End a Sentence with a Preposition
The rule that you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition has become more of an old wives’ tale. Many
times a sentence sounds a lot better with a preposition
at the end:
To quietly sing to the baby.
To sing quietly to the baby.
Six of one, a half dozen of the other. Avoid it if you can,
but don’t worry about it too much.
Use They as a Singular
Yes and no. Please refer back to the discussions in Sections 6.7 and 11.3.
Whom are you going with? rather than With
whom are you going?
Practice 90—
Can I Do These Things?
Whom did you bake the cake for? rather than For
whom did you bake that cake?
For this exercise, assume that we are writing formal
English, not conversational. There is something in each
sentence that is not appropriate for formal English.
Please identify what it is.
However, the rule still applies when there should be no
preposition at all!
Where are you at? No. It’s just Where are you?
Split an Infinitive
This rule is another old wives’ tale. Remember Star Trek’s
To boldly go where no man has gone before?
The infinitive to go is split by the adverb boldly. Don’t
worry about it. Yes, it can always be rewritten, usually
without losing too much of the effect.
1. I could’ve done this better if I had had more time.
2. Dear Doc Mitchell: I am writing to you for my test
results.
3. This job sounds really cool to me.
4. So I graduated from college last year.
5. I have a bunch of letters of recommendation if you
need to see them.
6. I live on 55 Maple St.
7. Each student should bring their test booklets.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Important Grammar Issues 2
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Chapter 11 Test
Important Grammar Issues
Whoa! Chapter 11 covered a wide range of issues! See
how well you do on this test. You may find a sentence
or two that is correct, but most of them have problems
with any of these issues from Chapter 11: run ons, fragments, agreement of subject and verb, agreement of
pronoun and antecedent, comparison, misplaced modifiers, possessives, parallel structure, using numbers,
double negatives, apostrophes in plurals, clarity, abbreviations, slang, contractions, and ending sentences with
prepositions. Some sentences may have more than one
problem. Rewrite the sentences correctly:
1. I think Jane is more pretty than Ellen.
2. There is three choices for dinner.
3. Mayor Jones, along with two of the police officers,
are coming to the court.
4. My class consists of 15 girls and seven boys.
5. Polished until gleaming, I picked up my ring from
the jeweler.
11. Because I didn’t see you coming.
12. Neither my cousin nor I see the point in this
argument.
13. This is my younger sisters’ doll; I bought it for her
birthday.
14. During my interview I told the boss that I had a
bunch of experience.
15. My brother swims much better than me.
16. The president of the club, but not the other officers,
have special privileges.
17. I have the report for you, I think it is complete.
18. One of us are going to be promoted.
19. He is the less intelligent of the four brothers.
6. I walked to work in the morning, ran two miles at
lunch, and resting at home after work.
20. All these boys play a clarinet.
7. I can’t hardly see you hiding in the closet!
21. The cast of the play are going over their lines before
the opening.
8. As I was walking to school, I saw Jim, who waved at
me.
22. Whom are you going to the meeting with?
9. I wish you woulda come with us!
10. I will meet you at eight a.m.
23. Anyone who is going with us should pack their
heaviest clothes.
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24. I took some picture’s on my business trip to Paris.
28. I saw a beautiful poodle driving to work this morning.
25. I read six books over vacation, which is alot for me!
29. Both Sue and her brother is going with us.
26. And where will my office be if I am hired?
30. Getting up early, going to work, having an important
lunch date, going to the gym, having guests for dinner, and reading an hour before going to bed.
27. 1650 people work in this building.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Chapter 12
Commonly Confused Words/
A Dictionary of Usage
T
his chapter contains an alphabetical list of words
(and word pairs and groups) that are commonly
confused. Examples are given for correct usage.
12.1. A Through D
Advice/Advise: These two words are different parts of
speech and are pronounced differently. In advice, the c
has an s sound, and the word is a noun. In advise, the s
has a z sound, and the word is a verb. Examples:
I have some good advice for you.
Could you advise me on this legal matter?
Affect/Effect: This troublesome pair is the granddaddy
to use most, almost will not make sense in its place.
Examples:
Almost everyone is here by now. (Don’t say most
everyone.)
Most of the pizza is gone. (Almost doesn’t make sense
there, so use most.)
Already/All ready: Already is an adverb that tells when.
All ready is an adjective. Examples:
Is it already time to go?
I am all ready to go.
Alright/All right: This one is easy. Always use all right as
two words. Alright isn’t a word (or is a really slang word,
so avoid it). Examples:
of troublesome! Once again, these words are different
parts of speech. Affect is a verb, an action. Effect is a
noun, a thing. You can put an article in front of effect
(the effect, an effect). Examples:
Everything will be all right.
The hot weather has a positive effect on my mood.
All right. I will go with you.
The hot weather affects me and improves my mood.
Allusion/Illusion: These words are both nouns, but have
entirely different meanings. An allusion is a reference to
something; its verb is to allude. An illusion is something
you see that isn’t there, and there is no verb. Examples:
He made an allusion to Shakespeare in his speech about
playwriting.
The water you sometimes think you see ahead on the
highway is just an illusion.
Almost/Most: The general rule: If you can use almost in
a sentence, use it. Don’t use most. When it is correct
Alter/Altar: To alter something is to change it in some
way. The altar is at church.
Altogether/All together: Altogether means totally or
completely. This pair is best shown by example:
It is altogether too cold for me!
Let’s sing all together! (Or Let’s all sing together, where
you split the words.)
Among/Between: These two words are both prepositions. Between is used when you are talking about two
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people or things; among is used when you are referring
to more than two people or things. Examples:
Divide the cake between you and your sister.
Divide the cake among the four of you.
you are, etc.) and the verbs that can sometimes express
emotions or senses (feel, taste, smell, look, sound). Some
verbs can be either action verbs (taking an adverb) or
linking verbs (taking an adjective), depending on how
they are used. Examples:
The dog is bad. (but The dog is behaving badly.)
Anymore/Any more: Anymore is an adverb that tells
when and means any longer. Any more means additional. Anymore is generally referred to in a negative
sense and sounds wrong when there is no negative in
the sentence. Examples:
I can’t find that type of candy anymore. (negative can’t)
I don’t want any more pasta, thank you.
I wish I could find that type of candy anymore. (Not correct. No negative in the sentence. Sounds very weird to
me, but I hear people say it.)
Anyone/Any one: Anyone refers to a person. Any one
doesn’t necessarily refer to a person, and is generally
followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with of.
I feel bad. (If you feel badly, there is something wrong
with your fingertips.)
The pizza tastes bad. (Compare to the action meaning of
taste: I taste sugar in this.)
This meat smells bad. (Compare to the action meaning
of smell: I smell chocolate.)
This dinner looks bad. (Compare to the action meaning
of looks: I look at the cake.)
The CD sounds bad. (Compare to the action meaning of
sound: I sound the horn.)
Note: It is also proper to say I feel good. However, you
can also say I feel well (an adverb) because well is acceptable as meaning a state of health.
Examples:
Anyone can eat the leftover pizza.
Any one of us can make pizza.
Anyway/Anyways/Any way: Anyways is not the plural of
anyway! (Just kidding.) There is no anyways. That goes
for anywhere, everywhere, and somewhere. There are
no anywheres, everywheres, or somewheres. And here
is the difference between anyway and any way:
Bring/Take: These two words go in opposite directions.
You take something away, but you bring it back.
By accident/On accident: It has always been by accident,
but lately I hear young people saying on accident. After
all, we say on purpose, right? But as far as I know, the
correct way to say it is by accident.
There isn’t any way I would eat pizza with anchovies!
Capital/Capitol: Usually the word you want is capital
with an -al. It is capital letters, and Sacramento is the
capital of California. Capitol with an -ol is used to refer
to an actual Capitol building.
Bad/Badly: This is a tough one. Bad is an adjective. For
example: Bad taste, bad dog. Bad describes a noun.
Badly is an adverb and, as such, describes a verb. For
example: I did badly, I play tennis badly. Okay, that is
Cite/Site/Sight: Cite is a verb meaning to refer to something: She cited my new book in her speech. Site is a
I never liked pizza anyway.
the easy part. But there is, of course, an exception to
this rule. When you use certain verbs, called linking
verbs or being verbs, you use the adjective rather than
the adverb. These verbs include the verb to be (I am,
noun and refers to a place: There was an accident at the
construction site. Sight is usually a noun, but can also be
a verb: That is a great sight to see. I can sight the building from here.
Commonly Confused Words 2
Climactic/Climatic: The first one, climactic, comes from
climax. The second one, climatic, has to do with the
weather and comes from climate.
Cloths/Clothes: When I wash the car, I use cloths. When
I go shopping, I buy clothes. These two words are pronounced differently. The first has a short o, and ends
with an s sound. The second word has a long o sound
and ends with a z sound.
Conscience/Conscious: The first hurdle is being able to
spell these words in the first place! Conscience is a noun,
and is the thing that gets guilty and tells you that you
may have done something wrong. Conscious is an adjective and means that you are aware.
Complement/Compliment: If you say something nice to
me, you are paying me a compliment with an i. If you
are telling me that my dress brings out the green in my
eyes, you are telling me that the dress complements my
eyes—with an e. Complement means to go well together.
Complimentary with an i means free.
Continual/Continuous: These words have slightly different meanings. Continual means happening over and
over again, usually in rapid succession. Continuous,
however, means without stopping. Examples:
We have had continuous rain all day; it hasn’t stopped
for even a minute.
The continual snowstorms this year have made clearing
all the snow really difficult.
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actually plural forms. The singular form of criteria is criterion, and the singular form of data is actually datum.
When you are talking about one criterion, use the singular. If you are taking about more than one, use criteria.
Sometimes, people will use criteria to mean just one.
Data, however, is now usually considered to be singular,
and datum is rarely used. Examples:
You need to meet one more criterion before you can be
considered for the promotion.
These are the four criteria for getting into the advanced
class.
The data is in, and it shows that our profit has increased this
year. (You could say data are, but you probably wouldn’t.)
Desert/Dessert: There are three of these to confuse.
There is the sweet one, the dry one, and the lonely one.
Here they are, used correctly:
I want chocolate cake for dessert.
It is too hot for me in the desert.
If you desert your fellow soldiers, you will be in big trouble. (Pronounced that same as the sweet one.)
Different than/Different from: When comparing, use different from.
Coke is quite different from Pepsi.
Discrete/Discreet: Many of us don’t even realize there
are two different words here, and that they have completely different meanings.
Discreet is the one having to do with keeping a secret.
Could of/Would of/Should of: You’re right! These
are wrong! It is could have, would have, and should
have! You can use could’ve, should’ve, and would’ve if
you want, but I don’t really like the contraction when
the word being shortened is have. Obviously, woulda,
shoulda, and coulda are unacceptable!
Criteria/Data: These two words don’t have anything to
do with one another except for the fact that they are
Discrete means separate.
I am telling you this secret because I know you will be
discreet.
Please put these folders into three discrete piles by date
of creation.
Disinterested/Uninterested: If you don’t like watching
baseball or football, you are probably uninterested in
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sports (not interested). If you are judging a competition, we hope you are disinterested (impartial, having
no interest in who wins.)
12. She (dived, dove) into the ocean from the cliff.
I am uninterested in reading about history.
15. She (complemented/complimented) me on my new
dress.
We need a disinterested person to decide which team
will go first.
13. I saw that movie yesterday (anyway, anyways).
14. She is totally (disinterested, uninterested) in baseball.
16. I have (already, all ready) finished reading this book.
17. That movie had a real (affect, effect) on me.
Dived/Dove: These two words are both perfectly fine
past tenses of the verb dive. Use whichever you wish,
but be consistent in the same piece of writing.
He dove into the pool. He dived into the pool. You
choose.
Duel/Dual: The ones with the guns or swords is called a
duel. The one that simply means two is dual.
The cowboys decided who was boss with a duel.
This dual-purpose machine both grinds and brews the
coffee.
Practice 91—
Confusing Words A Through D
Choose the correct answer:
1. Everyone, (altogether, all together), let’s sing these
songs.
2. Please (bring, take) these books back to the library.
3. I am sure this happened (by accident, on accident).
4. The five (criterion, criteria) for qualifying for the job
are on this list.
5. I bought some new (cloths, clothes) to wear on
vacation.
6. Is everything (alright, all right) over there?
7. There are (dual, duel) remote controls for the TV, so
we each can have one.
8. Do you have any (advice, advise) on what I should do?
9. What is the (capital, capitol) city of Florida?
10. I know she won’t tell anyone about this; she is very
(discrete, discreet).
11. She made an (allusion, illusion) to Shakespeare in
her speech.
18. I had to (altar, alter) the recipe to make the cake for
16 people.
19. We visited the (cite/site/sight) where the movie was
made.
20. (Almost, Most) everyone in the class received a
good grade.
21. I don’t eat meat much (anymore, any more).
22. When you come home (bring, take) your jacket with
you.
23. The sun (affects, effects) my mood, always cheering
me up.
24. Share the pizza (among, between) the three of you.
25. You (should of, should have) told me you were
visiting.
26. The blue dress really (complements, compliments)
your eyes.
27. The water you think you see in the distance is just an
(allusion, illusion).
28. If you (desert, dessert) your group, you will be in
trouble.
29. I feel (bad, badly) about this argument.
30. The (climatic, climactic) changes in the area have
meant more rain.
31. I would (advice, advise) you not to change your
mind again.
32. I am (already, all ready) to go.
33. The two men got their swords ready for a (dual, duel).
34. We need someone who is (disinterested, uninterested) in the results to judge the contest.
35. Please put these essays into three (discreet, discrete)
piles by class.
36. Would you like cake or pie for (desert, dessert)?
37. The water has been running (continuously, continually) for an hour in the leaky sink.
Commonly Confused Words 2
38. After he fell from the roof, I was surprised he was
(conscious, conscience).
39. (Anyone, Any one) of you could fix this chair.
40. Do you want (anymore, any more) pie?
See Appendix G for the answers.
12.2. E Through H
e.g./i.e.: These abbreviations come from Latin.
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They emigrated from Russia to the United States.
They left Russia and immigrated to the United States.
Eminent/Imminent: These two words are completely
unrelated. Eminent means well-known or renowned in
one’s field. Imminent means about to happen.
Dr. Ray is an eminent scientist in the field of cosmology.
Looking at the dark sky, I would say a storm is imminent.
e.g. means exempli gratia, or for example.
i.e., means id est, or that is.
Everyone/Every one: Sometimes everyone is one word;
You can always forget about the abbreviation and just
spell out that is or for example. Either way, use commas
before and after the expression.
other times it is two. It depends on how you are using
it. When it should be two words, you will probably find
yourself pausing slightly.
Long-haired dogs, e.g., poodles, don’t shed or cause
allergies. Long-haired dogs, for example, poodles, don’t
shed.
Everyone on the list is coming to the party. (meaning
everybody)
The shortest month of the year, i.e., February, has only
28 days. The shortest month of the year, that is, February, has only 28 days.
etc.: This abbreviation means and the others, not to be
confused with e.g. or i.e. It is usually used at the end of
the sentence and is preceded by a comma.
Music genres include jazz, rock, pop, classical, country,
rap, etc.
Earth/earth: Does earth begin with a capital E? Usually
it does not. The only time you begin earth with a capital
E is when you are using it in the same sentence or con-
text with other heavenly bodies that are capitalized. The
names of the other planets are capitalized, but the sun
and the moon are not. Examples:
Recycling is just one of the ways in which we can take
care of the earth.
Both Jupiter and Saturn are larger than Earth.
Emigrate/Immigrate: Emigrate has the prefix e-, which
means out. So to emigrate means to leave a country. To
immigrate is to go to a country.
Every one of the cakes arrived safely at the party. (meaning every single one of them)
Fewer/Less: This pair of words is really not that confusing. Use fewer with plurals, and use less with singulars
or things that cannot be counted.
There are fewer cookies on this plate than on the other
one.
There is less cake on this plate.
Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly, Lastly: As transition words, use
first, second, third, and last instead of adding the -ly at
the end. And please don’t use first off.
First, add sugar. Second, add butter. Third, cream them
together. Last, add the flour.
Formally/Formerly: Formally involves tuxedos and gowns
and is from the word formal. Formerly is what happened
before, from the word former.
You need to dress formally for the wedding.
Jane Smith was formerly known as Jane Mills before she
got married.
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Former/Latter: If you have mentioned two things, the
former is the first one you mentioned, and the latter is
the second.
I have two dogs, a chihuahua and a great Dane. The former is named Tiny, and the latter is named Big Boy.
Farther/Further: Farther has to do with distance. Further
means any more.
Healthful/Healthy: If you whip up a wheatgrass and kale
smoothie (no thanks . . . I’ll pass), you will be healthy.
However, the smoothie is healthful. People are healthy.
Dogs too. But when something provides you with good
health, it is healthful.
However/Therefore: These are technically not confus-
I cannot talk about this any further today.
ing words as far as when to use them. However, it can
be confusing to know whether you can put commas
around these words or whether you need a semicolon
(or a period). Look at these examples.
Good/well: Good is an adjective; well is an adverb.
I study; therefore, I do well on my tests.
I live farther away from the college than you do.
Adjectives are usually used to describe nouns. Adverbs
are usually used to describe action verbs. Adjectives,
however, are used after linking verbs (for example, the
verbs to be, to look, to taste, to feel, etc.). Note that even
though it is an adverb, well can be used after the to be
verb to indicate a state of health. (See example below.)
He plays tennis well.
I did well on the test.
I feel good today.
That cake looks good.
I feel well.
Got/Have: Let’s say my birthday was last week. Let’s say
I got some gifts. Now I have those gifts. I don’t got them.
I have something. In the past I had something. I get
something. In the past I got it. Got is not a present tense
verb, so to say I don’t got any isn’t correct. It also sounds
crummy.
Hanged/Hung: Let’s say that today I am hanging a picture. Yesterday, I hung a picture. Yesterday, I also hung
the laundry out to dry (Oh, yes, we all have dryers
these days.) But yesterday, they hanged a man. Hanged
is used as the past tense of hang only when there is a
noose involved.
I think, therefore, that I am right and you are wrong.
Here is what you do: take out however or therefore, and
read the sentence without it. If you have a good sentence, the comma is fine. However, if you are left with
a run-on sentence, you need a period or a semicolon.
In the first example, the commas are fine; the sentence,
without therefore, reads . . . “I think that I am right and
you are wrong.” In the second sentence, if you take out
therefore, you get . . . “I study, I do well on my tests.”
Since that is a run on, you need a semicolon or a period
before therefore. You can also add a conjunction and
keep the commas. (I study and, therefore, I do well on
my tests.)
Practice 92—
Confusing Words E Through H
Choose the correct answer:
1. I did (good, well) on my exam.
2. The newborn baby was pronounced (healthful,
healthy).
3. Her name is now Mrs. Jackson, but she was (formally, formerly) known as Ms. Whiting.
4. Here are the instructions: (First, Firstly), you must
unplug the appliance.
5. There are (fewer, less) papers in this pile than in that
one.
6. My backpack contains books, folders, binders, (e.g.,
ect., etc.).
7. I am sorry, but I don’t (got, have) any spare money.
Commonly Confused Words 2
119
8. Yesterday, I (hanged, hung) all the pictures in my
office.
If/Whether: If is often used when whether should be
used. If is conditional; whether implies a choice. Here
9. This breakfast is much more (healthful, healthy)
than the one you have.
If it rains, we won’t go hiking
10. He is ten (period, semicolon, or comma) therefore,
he is in fifth grade.
11. (Everyone, Every one) is invited to my party.
12. I am an author, (e.g., i.e.), I write books.
are examples:
I don’t know whether I should go hiking or cycling today.
(I don’t know if I should go hiking today.)
When or not appears in the sentence, use whether.
13. The planet closest to the sun are Mercury, Venus,
and (earth, Earth.)
I don’t know whether I should go or not.
14. He is dressed (formally, formerly) for the wedding.
Into/In To: Usually, there is not a problem with making
this one word or two. But sometimes, it really matters!
15. The prisoner was (hanged, hung) for committing his
crimes.
16. I know (semicolon, comma, period) however, that
he is coming to visit tonight.
17. I feel (good, well) about my exercise program.
18. I live (farther, further) away from my office than I
used to.
19. I like pizza, but I hate liver; the (former, latter) tastes
much better!
20. My family talks about (emigrating, immigrating) to
France someday.
21. I really cannot discuss this any (farther, further).
22. I would like (everyone, every one) of you to follow
me.
23. I love to feel the (Earth, earth) under my feet!
24. The sky is so dark, I think a storm is (eminent,
imminent).
25. I love to read science fiction, (e.g., i.e.,) Brave New
World, one of my favorite books.
See Appendix G for the answers.
12.3. I Through L
I could care less: Yes, this one is still around. Now think
about it. If you could care less, you care some and you
probably wouldn’t be talking about this at all. You are
making the comment because you don’t care at all.
Therefore, you couldn’t care any less than you already
care, because you already care zero!
I turned my car into the shopping mall. This implies that
some magic was done! (should be in to the shopping
mall)
I turned my book into the library. Another magic trick!
(in to the library)
Most of the time into as one word will work fine!
Irregardless: This one is still around too! It is a non-
standard word, and it is best not to use it. It contains
two negatives: ir- and -less. The correct word is simply regardless. Often followed by of, it means without
regard to or in spite of.
We are going regardless of the weather.
Imply/Infer: These two words are sort of opposites and
go in different directions. Imply means to suggest or
hint at something without coming right out and saying
it. So you might imply by your smile that you are happy.
Someone looking at you would see your smile and infer
that you are happy. So implying is sending the information out, and inferring is taking the information in.
Its/It’s: Most of us know this one by now (?). But if you
should have a moment of confusion, as we all do, it’s
easy. All contractions have apostrophes: I’m, can’t, don’t,
won’t, she’ll, etc. Well, so does it’s! It means it is, shortened to a contraction. So when it’s means it is, it is like
all other contractions: written with an apostrophe. On
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the other hand, its without the apostrophe is possessive.
And like all the other possessive pronouns (yours, ours,
theirs, his), it has no apostrophe.
Lay/Lie: If you are going to use lay, you need an object.
In other words, you need to lay something.
I am going to lie on the sofa.
Libel /Slander: You don’t want to be accused of either
libel or slander. And you don’t want to be the victim of
either! Both will ruin your reputation. Libel is writing
something negative and untrue about someone. Slander
is speaking it.
Like/As if: These are both used for comparison. Like is
I am going to lay my purse on the sofa.
used for a simple comparison, usually followed by a
noun. As if is used when a noun and verb follow.
It gets more confusing in the other tenses:
She acts like a queen.
Yesterday, I lay on the sofa.
She acts as if she were a queen.
Yesterday, I laid my purse on the sofa.
Every day this week, I have lain on the sofa.
Every day this week, I have laid my purse on the sofa.
Lead/Led: The only type of lead that has an a in it is the
lead in your pencil. The verb to lead is spelled led in the
Lose /Loose: If you lose too much weight, you will lose
your pants because they will be too loose. Nuff said.
Practice 93—
Confusing Words I Through L
past tense.
Choose the correct answer:
He leads the band.
1. You look (as if, like) you are angry.
He led the band.
2. Don’t (lose, loose) your keys again!
Leave/Let: This one doesn’t seem to be confused too
often any longer. To let is to allow. We leave someone
alone. We don’t let him alone. But you might let him be
alone.
4. I turned my car (into, in to) the driveway.
Lend/Loan: Technically, lend is a verb and loan is a
noun. You lend someone money. You give them a loan;
you don’t loan them money.
Less /Fewer: Less is used with singular nouns or things
you cannot count. Fewer is used with plural nouns and
things you can count.
I have less money than you do. I have fewer dimes than
you do.
I ate less pizza than you did. I ate fewer pieces of pizza
than you did.
3. From her smile, I can (infer, imply) that she did well
on the test.
5. I (could, couldn’t) care less if you come with us or
not.
6. The dog is (laying, lying) in its new bed.
7. I don’t know yet (if, whether) I will go to France or
to Italy on vacation.
8. He (lead, led) the marching band in the parade.
9. My dog loves (its, it’s, its’) new sweater.
10. Please (leave, let) me alone now.
11. This cash register is for ten items or (fewer, less).
12. She is dressed (as, like) a princess.
13. Can you (lend loan) me a few dollars?
14. I (laid, lay) my blanket on the grass for the picnic.
15. (Its, it’s, its’) almost three o’clock.
16. I want to (imply, infer) that I am unhappy with the
decision.
17. I have (laid, lain) out in the sun every day this week.
Commonly Confused Words 2
18. The newspaper article was deleted because it was
(libelous, slanderous).
19. She (lay, laid) in the sun all day and got quite a
sunburn.
20. I don’t know (if, whether) it is going to rain today.
See Appendix G for the answers.
12.4. M Through P
Many/Much: Like fewer and less, one of this pair is for
121
The news is good. (not are good)
Physics is a difficult subject for me.
None is/None are: This one can be tricky. None is one
of the indefinite pronouns (other indefinite pronouns
include someone, nobody, several, anything, and many
more) that can be either singular or plural depending
upon the noun to which it refers. That noun is often in
a prepositional phrase that follows:
countable objects (usually plural nouns) and the other
for things that can’t be counted (singular).
None of the cake is gone.
I don’t have many pencils (not much pencils), and I don’t
have much paper.
However, to confuse us more, none is singular when it
means “not one.”
May/Might: May implies permission or probability;
might implies possibility. May and might meaning probability/possibility are very close and often interchangeable. However, it is accepted that may is used when
something is more likely to happen than when might
is used.
I might go to the play, but I probably will stay home. If
you had taken the other route, you might have had an
accident! You may take the rest of the pizza. (I give you
permission.) You may take the rest of the pizza. (probable, if you get hungry enough!)
More Important/More Importantly: More importantly
is an adverb and used most often as a transition.
More important is an adjective and usually used in a
comparison.
I need to finish the reading for this course. More importantly, I need to get started on my project.
Getting started on my project is more important than
going to the zoo today.
None of the people are here.
None of the cookies has been eaten. (Singular—means
not one of the cookies has been eaten.)
The best thing to do is to say not one if that is what you
mean—and use the singular verb. Otherwise, have the
verb agree with the noun that is being referred to.
Only: I love this word, because so much depends upon
where you put it in the sentence. Only will generally go
with the word it is closest to:
Only she punched her friend in the arm. (no one else
did)
She only punched her friend in the arm. (she didn’t do
anything else)
She punched only her friend in the arm. (no one else)
She punched her only friend in the arm. (no wonder!)
She punched her friend only in the arm. (nowhere else)
She punched her friend in her only arm. (too bad)
Usually, we don’t make mistakes in sentences like this,
but there is a common mistake in the position of only:
We only have five dollars for the movie. (incorrect, but
understandable)
Moot/Mute: The point is moot, not mute. Mute means
unable to talk. Moot means not worth discussing.
We have only five dollars for the movie. (correct)
News/Mathematics/Physics and Other Such Singulars:
Although these words end in -s, they are all singular and
Passed/Past: Passed is the past tense of the verb to pass.
Past is a preposition.
use singular verbs.
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We passed the church on our way to school. (verb)
We went past the church on our way to school.
(preposition)
Precede/Proceed: Precede means “to come before”
something else. Proceed means “to continue along.”
The rally will precede the game.
12. I (passed, past) the slow truck on the road before it
hit my car.
13. None of my friends (are, is) going to the movies this
evening.
14. Eating meat is against my (principals, principles).
15. I (only) have (only) ten dollars. (which only is in the
correct place?)
See Appendix G for the answers.
The parade will proceed down Main Street.
12.5. R and S
Principal/Principle: There are actually four meanings of
these words: three of them are spelled principal, and
only one is spelled principle.
There is a new principal of the high school. (head of a
school)
I need to figure out the principal and interest of my
mortgage. (financial meaning)
I received a principal role in the play. (the only adjective
of the four; means the main one)
It is against my principles to lie. (rule or ethic)
Practice 94—
Confusing Words M Through P
Choose the correct answer:
1. You (may, might) have drown when you dove into
the deep water from the cliff!
2. There don’t seem to be (many, much) people in the
audience.
3. The parade usually (precedes, proceeds) the game.
4. None of the cake (are, is) gone.
5. I walk (passed, past) the church on my way to work.
6. Because she is unable to talk, she is (moot, mute).
7. He is really intelligent; more (important, importantly), he uses his brain!
8. Yes, of course you (may, might) go with me.
9. The rules of physics (are, is) confusing to me!
10. The (principal, principle) rule of the game is to get
the most fish.
11. I see the band (preceding, proceeding) down the
street.
Real/Really: Real is an adjective meaning “true.” It is
used to describe nouns. Really is an adverb (clue: Most,
but not all, words ending in -ly are adverbs) meaning
“to a great extent”; therefore, it is used to describe verbs.
Is this a real diamond?
Is she really going out with him?
I did really well. (really describes the adverb well)
This is really beautiful. (really describes the adjective
beautiful).
I did real well. (Incorrect: adjectives don’t describe
adverbs)
This is real pretty. (Incorrect . . . use really. How pretty?)
Regretful/Regrettable: Regretful means full of regret.
Regrettable means to be regretted. People are usually
regretful, but circumstances are regrettable. Here are
some examples:
I am regretful that I didn’t study harder as a kid.
It is regrettable that I didn’t make better use of my
education.
Respectfully/Respectively: These two words are entirely
different. Respectfully means full of respect. Respectively means in the order given.
Please respectfully stand when the national anthem is
played.
My favorite colors are blue, green, and red, respectively.
(Blue, and then green, and then red.)
Commonly Confused Words 2
Rise/Raise: Refer back to lay and lie for this one. It is the
same rule. Rise is intransitive and has no direct object.
However, raise has a direct object. In other words, you
must raise something:
Please raise the flag when I give the instructions.
I watch the sun rise from my balcony every morning.
Note: The past tense of raise is raised. Past participle
is has/have raised. The past tense of rise is rose. Past
participle is has/have risen.
Say/Tell: Well, although it is difficult to describe, there
is a difference that is pretty easy for those of us who are
native English speakers. Saying is like speaking. Telling
usually involves saying something to someone. Sometimes say doesn’t have a direct object. Tell generally
does, and it often has an indirect object as well.
He told me a story. (He didn’t say me a story. Me is the
indirect object, and story is the direct object.)
He said that he was going. (Said doesn’t usually have a
direct object.)
Tell me the truth. (Don’t say me the truth. Me is the indirect object, and truth is the direct object.)
Shall/Will: Shall is pretty much gone from our language
except in very formal writing. If you want to use shall,
use it with first person pronouns only (I, we); use will
for second (you) and third (he/she/it) person. In cases
where you want to appear determined or for special
emphasis, turn it around. Use will for first person and
shall for second and third person.
I shall go to the movies. You will go to the movies. He
will go to the movies.
I will overcome this obstacle. You shall overcome this
obstacle. He shall overcome this obstacle.
For the colloquialism, shall we? (or shall we dance?),
however, we cannot use will. Imagine saying Will we
dance? It has an entirely different meaning. Shall we
dance means Let’s dance.
123
Shined/Shone: Both are acceptable past tenses of shine.
However, shined is often used with a direct object and
shone is not.
I shined my shoes.
The sun shone.
Sit/Set: These two verbs are like lie/lay and rise/raise.
One takes a direct object and the other does not. In this
case, set needs a direct object. You must set something.
Note also that set is the same in the past tense and the
past participle (has or have set).
Set your book down on the table.
Sit in this chair.
Sole/Soul: There are several meanings for these words:
Sole is a fish—I ate fillet of sole.
Sole is the bottom of your foot—My sole hurts in these
shoes.
Sole means alone—She is the sole person living in this
big house.
Soul means a person or the spiritual essence of a person:
Don’t tell a soul! I love you with my heart and soul.
Sometimes/Sometime/Some Time: These three are all
different, although slightly.
Sometimes means some of the time: Sometimes I like to
eat candy all day.
Sometime means at some future time: You will have to
come over to my house sometime soon.
Some time means just what it says: I have some time to
spend with you tomorrow afternoon.
Stationary/Stationery: The one that ends in -ary means
“standing still.” You remember this by remembering that
there is an a in place (standing in place). Yes, there is
also an e in place, but it is silent! The one ending in -ery
is the pretty paper. (Does anyone use it anymore?)
I just bought a stationary bike.
My stationery has pretty pink flowers on it.
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Practice 95—
Confusing Words R and S
There/Their/They’re: Yes, this one is still sometimes
Choose the correct answer:
There is a place: Go sit over there.
1. I polished my ring until it (shined, shone).
Their is possessive: I am their mother.
2. Do you have (some time, sometime) to help me with
the project?
They’re is a contraction meaning they are. They’re with
3. The answers are 50 and 68, (respectfully, respectively).
4. It is (real, really) windy out today.
5. The sun (rised, raised, rose) at 5:30 a.m.
6. (Set, Sit) your suitcase right here.
7. Please don’t tell a (sole, soul) about this.
8. This pretty (stationary stationery) has my initials on it.
9. (Sometimes, Sometime, Some times) I wish I lived
closer to you.
10. You (shall, will) clear your room today!
11. He is the (sole, soul) person on the airplane!
12. Can you (say, tell) that word in French?
13. It is (regretful, regrettable) that you aren’t able to go
with us.
14. I signed the letter (“Respectfully, Respectively) yours.”
15. I am (regrettable, regretful) about what I said to him.
16. The man (shined, shone) my shoes.
17. That truck has been (stationary, stationery) since I
got here.
18. I am going to (set, sit) my dog in that chair.
19. Please come and visit me at work (sometime, some
time).
written incorrectly!
their mother over there.
These/Those: These and those are plural. So don’t use
them to describe singular nouns:
Correct: these kinds of apples / this kind of apple
Incorrect: these kind of apples
Titles: Italics or quotes? Do you often wonder whether to
use italics or quotes when you are writing book titles?
Here is the general rule: Use italics (or underlining if
you are writing by hand) for big things. Use quotes for
parts of those things.
Italics: Book titles, CD titles, movie titles, magazine and
newspaper titles, play and opera titles, TV series titles.
Quotes: Chapter titles, song titles, poem titles, maga-
zine and newspaper article titles, TV episode titles,
titles of acts in plays.
Note that we are not talking about the title on the book
cover itself. We are talking about what to do with titles
when we write about them in text.
20. (Say, Tell) me what you said to her.
To/Too/Two: Yes, this one is still written incorrectly too!
See Appendix G for the answers.
To is a preposition that tells where: I am going to the
store.
12.6. T Through Z
Then/Than: Then is an adverb and refers to time. Than is
used for comparison. Much of the time the wrong one
indicates a typo.
Now and then I eat chocolate.
Chocolate is better than wheatgrass.
Please remember that then is not a conjunction, and
you can’t connect sentences with it! (I ate dinner, then I
watched TV. Wrong!)
Too is an adverb that means either “also” or “overly”:
I am going too. This is too salty.
Two is a number. I have two pencils.
Note that when you use too at the end of a sentence, you
don’t need a comma before it, but when you use it in the
middle of a sentence, it is set off in commas if it means
also: I, too, am going OR I am going too.
Toward/Towards: Use either one. They are the same.
Americans generally drop the s; the British use the s.
Commonly Confused Words 2
Try and/Try to: The correct phrase is try to.
I will try to finish the cleaning this morning.
Warranty/Warrantee: A warranty is the agreement you
get with an appliance that says it will work or else! A
warrantee is the person who receives the warranty.
Weather/Whether: Look out the window. You will see
the weather. Now you can see whether or not the sun
is out!
Whose/Who’s: Whose is possessive. Who’s is a contraction that means who is.
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Practice 96—
Confusing Words T through Z
Choose the correct answer:
1. I prefer (this, these) kind of apples.
2. Please point the car (toward, towards) the
intersection.
3. Do you know (whose, who’s) jacket this is?
4. I am five inches taller (than, then) my sister.
5. Are you going (to, too) the play on Saturday?
6. I just read a book called (“May Day,” May Day).
7. The box from my new television was missing the
(warrantee, warranty).
8. Do you know (weather, whether) or not it is going
to rain?
Whose package is this?
9. Please (try and, try to) come to the party.
It belongs to the man who’s in the front row.
10. Please decide if (your, you’re) coming with us.
11. Put the books over (their, there).
Your/You’re: Same as whose and who’s. Your is possessive. You’re is a contraction that means you are.
Is this your package?
Yes, you’re correct.
12. Water the flowers (comma, semicolon) then sweep
the walkway.
13. I love the poem (“In the Spring,” In the Spring).
14. Is this (your, you’re) pen?
15. (Who’s, Whose) at the door?
See Appendix G for the answers.
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Chapter 12 Test
Confusing Words
Choose the correct answer:
23. I (laid, lay) my book on the counter at the library.
1. I spilled the milk (by accident, on accident).
24. I made an (allusion, illusion) to the President in my
paper.
2. Boston is the (capital, capitol) city of Massachusetts.
3. Music (affects, effects) my mood and always makes
me feel good.
4. He is totally (disinterested, uninterested) in romantic movies.
5. It is (regretful, regrettable) that she heard what the
neighbors said about her.
6. I got the (principal, principle) role in the play.
7. If you go to the mall, (bring, take) some lunch back
with you.
8. The groom stood at the (altar, alter) of the church,
waiting for his bride.
9. I have been riding the (stationary, stationery) bicycle for 30 minutes.
10. You can see the two exhaust pipes because the car
has (dual, duel) exhaust.
11. She is a school counselor, (e.g., i.e.), she doesn’t teach
in the classroom.
25. I was the (sole, soul) person walking on that street
last night!
26. We need someone who is (disinterested, uninterested) in the results to judge the writing contest.
27. (Its, It’s, Its’) time to leave for the airport.
28. I am not going to give you any more (advice, advise)
if you don’t listen to what I say!
29. She talks to us (as if, like) she is the boss.
30. Are you (already, all ready) to go?
31. The ten (criterion, criteria) for getting a good grade
on the paper are on this list.
32. Please be (discreet, discrete), and don’t tell anyone
about this.
33. I think (almost, most) everyone is coming to the
party.
34. I sing really (bad, badly).
35. You (could of, could have) stayed with me during
your visit.
12. The six of us worked on fixing the house up (altogether, all together).
36. That movie had great special (affects, effects).
13. She (cited, sited) a song by the Beatles in her speech.
37. I don’t see my cousins too often (any more, anymore).
14. From his expression, I (infer, imply) that the conversation didn’t go well.
38. According to the (principals, principles) I follow, it
is wrong to lie.
15. (Anyone, Any one) of you could do this easily.
39. I drive right (passed, past) your house on my way
to work.
16. This line is for customers with 15 items or (fewer,
less).
17. The answers on page 663 are a, a, c, c, and b, (respectfully, respectively).
18. I love getting (complements, compliments) when I
wear new clothes.
40. The sauce really (complements, compliments) the
vegetables.
41. Who lives (farther, further) away from the airport,
you or I?
42. The big rock is (laying, lying) right in my way.
19. Have you (already, all ready) seen that movie?
43. I wrote really (good, well) today.
20. I asked her if everything was (alright, all right).
44. (Who’s, Whose) knocking on the back door?
21. Recycling helps save the (earth, Earth)!
45. I drove (in to, into) the garage.
22. If you (desert, dessert) your camping team, you will
face consequences.
46. I would like (everyone, every one) of you to try this.
Commonly Confused Words 2
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47. Please put the towels into three (discreet, discrete)
piles by color.
72. I don’t know yet (if, whether) I will go to Harvard
or Yale.
48. I don’t want (any more, anymore) cookies.
73. Please don’t tell a (sole, soul) about this.
49. She is married now, but she was (formally, formerly)
known as Miss Jones.
74. (Your, You’re) going too fast!
50. I can’t (lend, loan) you any money until next week.
76. He (lead, led) the class in the number of books he
has read.
51. I love foods such as pizza, spaghetti, and lasagna,
(e.g., ect., etc., none of them).
52. I am sorry, but we don’t (got, have) any men’s clothes
in this store.
53. I (could, couldn’t) care less if it rains or not.
54. Spring (precedes, proceeds) summer.
55. Did you (lose, loose) your keys again?
56. I heard that the prisoner was (hanged, hung)
yesterday.
57. My grandparents (emigrated, immigrated) to the
United States.
58. We can talk about this (farther, further) later.
59. I try to eat foods that are (healthful, healthy).
60.There is the bird; can you see (its, it’s, its’) beautiful
feathers?
61. The water you think you see on the road is often just
an (allusion, illusion).
62. You need to dress (formally, formerly) for the prom.
63. I (hanged, hung) all the decorations.
64. The planet closest to the sun are Mercury, Venus,
and (earth, Earth.)
65. I didn’t mean to (imply, infer) that I am unhappy
with your actions.
75. (Set, Sit) your backpack on the table.
77. I have (laid, lain) out in the sun every day this week.
78. He was sued because what he said about the mayor
in his speech was (libelous, slanderous).
79. None of the cakes (are, is) gone.
80. I (passed, past) by that same family on my way to
work today.
81. I love the song (“Yesterday,” Yesterday).
82. I (only) made (only) fifty cents at my lemonade stand.
(which only is in the correct place?)
83. I prefer (this, these) type of movie.
84. Please decide if (your, you’re) coming with us.
85. Please (try and, try to) study harder for the exam.
86. Do you know (whose, who’s) book is on the floor?
87. She (lay, laid) in the sun all day and got quite a
sunburn.
88. None of my friends (are, is) going to the movies this
evening.
89. Do you have (some time, sometime) to fix my computer today?
90. Have you read the book (“Story of a Boy,” Story of a
Boy)?
66. I have (fewer, less) pieces of paper than you do.
91. It has been running (continuously, continually) for
an hour without stopping for a minute!
67. The (eminent, imminent) scientist is very wellknown in the field of astronomy.
92. Clear your desk before we (precede, proceed) with
the test.
68. I like Jean more than I like Linda; the (former, latter)
is much nicer!
93. I signed the letter (“Respectfully, Respectively)
yours.”
69. Please (bring, take) your coat when you go hiking.
94. I like fiction better (than, then) nonfiction.
70. He is acting (as, like) a clown.
95. The box from my new television was missing the
(warrantee, warranty, warrantey).
71. I love to read poetry, (e.g., i.e.,) Frost and Keats, two
of my favorite poets.
See Appendix G for the answers.
Final Test
Part 1—English Language Basics
1. Which of these is not considered a part of speech?
a. interjection b. preposition c. direct object d. noun
2. Which of these is a preposition?
a. is b. anyone c. and d. of
3. Which of these is a verb?
a. it b. in c. is d. if
4. Which of these is a conjunction?
a. ouch b. whom c. it d. but
5. Every sentence needs a subject and a(n) _________
a. verb b. noun c. object d. period
6. After dinner I will play the piano. The subject of this sentence is
a. dinner b. piano c. I d. play
7. The simple predicate is the same as
a. subject b. object c. adjective d. verb
8. Which of the following is a proper noun?
a. I b. Jack c. he d. everybody
9. Give the book to Steve. The direct object of the sentence is
a. Steve b. book c. give d. you
10. Give the book to Steve. What type of sentence is this?
a. interrogative b. declarative c. exclamatory d. imperative
11. Which of these is a prepositional phrase?
a. into the house b. He went c. locking the door d. to swim
12. Which of these phrases contains a participle?
a. to be a farmer b. pass the school c. up the stairs d. frozen food
13. Which sentence has a participle that makes sense?
a. Driving down the road, my car broke down.
b. He read from his book wearing glasses.
c. Reading a book by the window, my cat fell asleep.
d. Running down the street, the dog wouldn’t come back.
14. Which item contains an infinitive?
a. to go to the store b. running down the street c. while talking d. to the bank
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15. A clause is a group of words with
a. a phrase b. two verbs c. a period d. a subject and a verb
16. An independent clause is the same as a(n)
a. phrase b. appositive c. infinitive d. sentence
17. Which of the following is a clause?
a. after I watch the movie
b. running down the street
c. Jack and Jill
d. before the movie
18. Which of these is a complete and correct sentence?
a. Because I can’t go with you.
b. Going to the movies with my mother and brother.
c. She ran.
d. She ran, he walked.
19. Which one of these is a run-on sentence?
a. I told you, but you didn’t listen.
b. She ran; he walked.
c. I didn’t go, he did.
d. Give me the book, put the games away, and then go to bed.
20. Which of these is a compound sentence?
a. Jack and Jill went up the hill.
b. Jack went up the hill and then fell down.
c. Jack went up the hill, and Jill fell down.
d. Jill climbed and climbed up the hill.
Part 2—Sentence Correction
Most of the following sentences have one or more of the grammar, punctuation, usage, or capitalization mistakes
you learned about in this workbook. Some of the sentences are correct as they are. Find all the mistakes and correct
them. Also identify the sentences that are already correct.
21. Jamie, Paul, and myself cooked dinner tonight.
22. You should of given those candy bars to my sister and me.
23. Him and I loved that movie, did you like it?
24. With whom are you going.
25. Who are you?
26. Whom did you invite to join my brother and me?
27. Do you want these kind of pencils or the newer ones?
28. Anyone whom is on the boy’s soccer team can buy their uniform here.
29. Neither of my brother’s are coming with us.
30. Either one of them is able to fix the computer.
Final Test 2
31. A bunch of students are studying in the library.
32. Either the dogs or the baby are making a mess.
33. Joe waved at his friend as he was walking down the street.
34. The book was read by me, and I really enjoyed it.
35. I have went to the movies three times this week all ready.
36. I have baked brownies last night, would you like one?
37. I did real good on that test, that I thought it was really difficult.
38. I have drunk all the milk, so I will go to the store to buy more.
39. If I was taller, I could probably be a model.
40. I had rung the bell five times, before she answered the door.
41. The dress, that I am holding, is on sale.
42. I too, like chocolate.
43. Jack, Ben, and I are going, but John, Frank, and him are not.
44. I am going to college next year, my two sisters’ are to.
45. Did she ask “Can I go with you”?
46. I think my favorite song is Summertime.
47. This recipe needs: salt, sugar, flour, milk, three types of chocolate, and four eggs.
48. She is the mother of a four year old boy who is in the kindergarten class I teach.
49. My cat-I don’t know how she got there-was living in the neighbors garage.
50. I read this quote in the newspaper; “Governor Ferry said that these (the new taxes) would help pay for the
roads to be fixed.
51. She attends Proctor High school, in Memphis Tennessee.
52. Out of all the seasons, summer is my favorite.
53. She said that “the weather should be nice today.”
54. “Take this book,” he said “And return it to the library.”
55. The title of the movie is “Where is Mr. Jones”?
56. Dear Mister Duple,
I am applying for the Accounting position at Tickner Inc.
57. Yours Truly,
John Jones, Jr.
58. Jim, along with his friends, are going to see a Concert.
59. All the girls are wearing a long dress to the School Prom.
60. “Which of your to poodles is tallest,” she asked?
61. I think this is the least interesting book of the three in the series.
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62. He likes to swim more than me but I am a better swimmer.
63. Finally repaired, I picked up my car from the shop today.
64. She asked me if I read about the earthworm in the science book?
65. Both of my sisters’ are going, but we aren’t taking either of there cars.
66. I would’ve gone to Thomas’ house; but he is on vacation.
67. The motorcycle belongs to her brothers.
68. After I go to the gym, I will pick up my dry cleaning, and then going to the movies.
69. I met the following people at my interview: Ann Jones, the company president, the human resources manager,
Phil Cole, a project manager and a scientist.
70. Five boys and 6 girls are in the class, this is small.
71. I was born in June, 1982 in Boston.
72. I can barely finish this piece of cake anymore.
73. You put to many a’s in the word accommodate.
74. They almost stole 75% of my money!
75. I asked him if he was alright. And I asked him again when he didn’t reply.
76. This dress is altogether too tight.
77. After we hanged the pictures on the wall the apartment looked really well.
78. This notebook has dual functions: it is both a diary and a reminder list.
79. Bring these bottles back to the store and get some money for them
80. Do you feel as badly as me about the broken television?
81. I would appreciate if you would separate these essays into three discreet piles according to grade.
82. I turned the truck into Benson Drive and went straight from there.
83. Many people have always emigrated to the U.S. from other countries.
84. None of the pieces of chocolate cake from dessert is left.
85. Well, I didn’t want any cake anyways, did you?
86. We visited the capitol building when we visited the state capitol.
87. Because she acted like she was a professional actress you could tell she thought she deserved the lead in the
play.
88. She is a much better actress than I!
89. My dog ate all it’s food this morning, which is unusual.
90. She asked, “Are you going to your graduation?”
91. The principle rule of the game, is to get the ball in the basket.
92. The band has been tuning up their instruments for the past hour.
93. After the storm the rocks were laying all over the road.
Final Test 2
94. He lead the class in math but he wasn’t very good in english.
95. I am going to try and get a job in Sales.
96. “Who’s briefcase is this,” she asked.
97. If you will precede with this project; I will get started on the next assignment.
98. Since I live further away from school then you do, I always go passed the mall.
99. I only have five pencils, and she has even less than me.
100. If you can loan me 5 dollars, we can bring my sister to the movies.
See Appendix G for the answers.
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Appendix A
Redundancy
Avoid being redundant and extra wordy in your writing.
Instead of
Use
Instead of
Use
2:00 p.m. in the afternoon
2:00 p.m.
and also
and OR also
(but not both)
invited guests
guests (guests are
generally invited)
it should be noted that
notice
as yet
yet
past history
history
at this point in time
now
personal opinion
opinion
basic essentials
essentials
plan ahead
plan
collaborate together
collaborate
postpone until later
postpone
completely unanimous
unanimous
protest against
protest
difficult dilemma
dilemma (they are
all difficult!)
refer back
refer
due to the fact that
because OR due to
repeat again
repeat
each and every
each OR every
(but not both)
revert back
revert
small in size
small
end result
result
spell out in detail
spell out
exactly the same
the same
filled to capacity
filled
such as ________, etc .
use either such as
OR etc. (not both)
final outcome
outcome
summarize briefly
summarize
for the purpose of
to
unexpected surprise
surprise
I would appreciate if you would
please
very unique
unique
in close proximity to
near
we made a decision
we decided
in the immediately vicinity of
near
with regard to
about OR regarding
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It is important to avoid redundancy, or unnecessary
repetition, when we write. Redundancy can make writing overly wordy and often awkward. Read the following paragraph, and see if you can spot the ten examples
of redundancy.
I woke up early because I had a meeting at 7 a.m.
this morning. It is a good thing I live in close proximity to my office, so I didn’t have to leave too early. I
stopped at Starbucks, which is in the immediate vicinity of where I work. I am missed if I don’t show up at
a meeting, since the company is small in size. This
meeting was about our latest project. We made a
decision to collaborate together on it for the purpose
of getting a variety of different ideas. The creativity of
this company is the reason why I took the job. It is a
great job, but at this point in time I haven’t gotten a
raise as yet.
Did you find them? Here is the same paragraph with the
redundancy eliminated.
I woke up early because I had a meeting at 7 a.m.
It is a good thing I live close to my office, so I didn’t
have to leave too early. I stopped at Starbucks, which
is near where I work. I am missed if I don’t show up
at a meeting, since the company is small. This meeting was about our latest project. We decided to collaborate on it to get a variety of ideas. The creativity
of this company is the reason I took the job. It is a
great job, but I haven’t gotten a raise yet.
Here are the redundancies that were in the first example:
1. 7 a.m. is the morning, so we don’t need to also write
this morning.
2. Close proximity? Close is enough.
3. Immediate vicinity means near.
4. We know small refers to size, so we don’t need to use
small in size.
5. Made a decision can be replaced by decided. This
redundancy is called a “nominalization,” which
means turning a verb into a noun, thus adding more
words.
6. You cannot collaborate unless you work together, so
together is redundant with collaborate.
7. Variety implies that the ideas will be different, so we
don’t need both words.
8. We can use is the reason or we can use is why, but we
don’t need to use is the reason why.
9. At this point in time is not necessary at all. You are
obviously referring to the present.
10. You don’t need as yet. Yet is enough.
It is easy to let these redundancies slip into our writing.
The best way to avoid them is to be familiar with them
and proofread your work (or have someone else proofread it) to tighten it up.
Appendix B
Commonly Misspelled Words
A
before
controversial
absence
beginning
convenience
accidentally
believe
criticize
accommodate
benefited
accumulate
breathe
D
achieve
brilliant
decide
acquaintance
business
definite
definitely
acquire
across
C
deposit
address
calendar
describe
advertise
careful
desperate
advice
category
develop
amateur
ceiling
difference
among
cemetery
dilemma
apparatus
certain
disappear
apparent
changeable
disappoint
arctic
chief
discipline
argument
citizen
dissatisfied
ascend
colonel (military rank)
does
athlete
column
during
attendance
coming
awful
committee
E
competition
easily
B
conceivable
eight
balance
conscience (the guilty kind)
eighth
basically
conscientious
either
becoming
conscious (aware)
eligible
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embarrass
grieve
M
eminent
guarantee
maintenance
encouragement
maneuver
environment
H
millennium
equipped
harass
minuscule
exaggerate
height
mischievous
excellent
heroes
misspell
except
hindrance
exercise
humerus (arm bone)
N
exhilarate
humorous (funny)
necessary
existence
expect
experience
experiment
explanation
F
familiar
fascinating
February
finally
foreign
forty
forward
fourth
ninety
I
immediately
incident (something that happens)
O
incidence (frequency of something
happening)
occasionally
incidentally
incredible
independent
inoculate
irresistible
J
jewelry
judgment
friend
K
fundamental
knowledge
G
L
gauge
leisure
generally
government
grammar
noticeable
liaison
license
loneliness
occur
occurred
occurrence
omitted
optimistic
P
parallel
paralyze
pastime
perseverance
personal
personnel
picnicking
possession
precede
precedence
prejudice
prevalent
Commonly Misspelled Words 2
privilege
S
tragedy
proceed
schedule
transferring
professor
seize
twelfth
pronunciation
sense
tyranny
pursue
separate
sergeant
U
Q
severely
undoubtedly
questionnaire
shining
unnecessary
similar
until
R
receive
recommend
referring
relevant
repetition
restaurant
sincerely
sophomore
specifically
studying
succeed
succession
rhyme
T
rhythm
temperamental
tendency
V
vacuum
villain
W
weird
whether (or not)
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Appendix C
Commonly Mispronounced Words
accessory The first C has a “hard” sound. Say ak-sessor-y, not ass-ess-or-y.
across
There is no T at the end. Do not say a-crost.
arctic
Note the C after the R. Say ark-tik, not ar-tik.
ask
The S comes before the K. Say ask not aks.
asterisk Notice the second S. Say as-ter-isk, not
as-ter-ik.
athlete The word has two syllables, not three. Say
ath-lete, not ath-uh-lete.
cache The word is of French origin, but it does not
end with an accented syllable. Say kash, not ka-shay.
candidate Notice the first D. Say kan-di-date, not
kan-i-date.
cavalry (troops that fight on horseback) Say kav-ul-ry,
not kal-vuh-ry.
chaos
Say kay-os, not tchay-os.
clothes Notice the TH spelling and sound. Say klothz,
not kloz.
daïs (a raised platform) The word is often misspelled
as well as mispronounced. Say day-is not dī-is.
dilate The word has two syllables, not three. Say dilate, not di-a-late.
drowned This is the past participle form of the verb
drown. Say drownd, not drown-ded.
et cetera This Latin term is often mispronounced and
its abbreviation is frequently misspelled. Say et cet-er-a,
not ex cet-er-a. For the abbreviation, write etc., not ect.
February The spelling calls for feb-roo-ar-y, not
feb-u-ar-y.
foliage The word has three syllables. Say fo-li-uj, not
fol-uj or foil-uj.
forte The Italian word, a musical term meaning “loud,”
is pronounced with two syllables: for-tay. The French
word, an adjective meaning “strength” or “strong point,”
is pronounced with one syllable: fort.
Halloween
Say hal-o-ween, not hol-lo-ween.
height The word ends in a T sound, not a TH sound.
Say hite, not hith.
heinous
Say hay-nus, not heen-i-us.
hierarchy The word has four syllables. Say hi-er-arky, not hi-ar-ky.
Illinois As with Arkansas, the final S in Illinois is not
pronounced. Say il-i-noy, not il-li-noiz.
interpret The word has three syllables. Don’t add
one! Say in-ter-pret, not in-ter-pre-tate (or in-ter-pert).
jewelry The word has three syllables. Say jew-el-ry,
not jew-el-er-y or jewl-ry.
library
Say li-brar-y, not li-ber-ry.
medieval The word has four syllables. The first E may
be pronounced either short (med) or long (meed). Say
med-ee-ee-val or mee-dee-ee-val, not mid-eval.
miniature The word has four syllables. Say min-i-ature, not min-a-ture.
mischievous The word has three syllables with the
accent on the first syllable: mis-chi-vus. Don’t say mischee-vee-us. Please.
niche
Say neesh, not nitch.
old-fashioned Don’t leave off the ED. Say old-fashiond, not old-fashion.
orient This word has three syllables. Say or-i-ent, not
or-i-en-tate.
picture There’s a K sound in picture. Don’t confuse
picture with pitcher. Say pik-ture, not pitch-er.
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precipitation Say pre-cip-i-ta-tion, not per-cip-i-ta-tion.
recur
prescription Note the prefix PRE in this word. Say
pre-scrip-tion, not per-scrip-tion or pro-scrip-tion.
sherbet The word has only one r in it. Say sher-bet
not sher-bert.
preventive The word has three syllables. Say pre-ventive/, not pre-ven-ta-tive.
supposedly
probably This word as three syllables. Say prob-ab-ly,
not prob-ly.
pronunciation This word is a noun. It comes from
the verb pronounce, BUT it is not pronounced like the
verb. Say pro-nun-ci-a-tion, not pro-nounce-i-a-tion.
prostate This is the word for a male gland. Say prostate, not pros-trate (which means lying down).
realtor Say re-al-tor, not re-a-la-tor or ree-la-tor.
Do not say reoccur.
Do not say supposably.
ticklish The word has two syllables. Say tik-lish, not
tik-i-lish.
undoubtedly
Do not say undoubtably
vehicle Although there is an H in the word, don’t pronounce it. Say vee-ikl, not vee-hikl.
wintry The word has two syllables. Say win-try, not
win-ter-y.
Appendix D
Common Prefixes, Suffixes, and Word Roots
P
refixes, suffixes, and word roots are parts of words
that carry a specific meaning. They help you to figure out the meaning of a word you may not know. Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word. Suffixes are
added to the end of a word. Roots can be anywhere in
the word, and are generally the main part of the word.
For example:
The prefix pre- means before.
Preheat the oven—heat up the oven before you put
something into it.
Suffixes usually don’t give much clue to the meaning
of a word. They usually change the part of speech. The
suffix -ful means full of, so adding -ful to beauty makes
the word beautiful, or full of beauty. It also changes the
word from a noun to an adjective. The suffix -ize means
to become. Add -ize to modern and you get modernize, to become modern. That suffix changes words from
adjectives to verbs.
Let’s see an example with roots. Some words have more
than one root in them, and one may be at the beginning,
functioning as more of a prefix. Look at the word autobiography. Let’s break it apart:
auto means self.
bio means life.
graph means writing.
Prefix
Meaning
Sample Word
a/ab
away from
absent
ad
toward
advance
ante
before
antebellum
(before the war)
anti
against
anti-war
auto
self
automobile
bene
good
benefit
bi
two
bicycle
co
together
cooperate
contr
against
contradict
circum
around
circumference
de
reverse, remove
decompose
dec
ten
decade
dis
opposite of
distrust
dys
bad
dysfunction
du, duo
two
duet
ex/e
out
exhale
hyper
over
hyperactive
hypo
under
hypotension
What is an autobiography? A writing about someone’s
life written by oneself.
in/ir/il
not
illegal
macro
large
macroeconomics
Knowing roots and prefixes can improve your vocabulary. Here are some common prefixes and roots, their
meanings, and sample words.
mal
bad
malfunction
micro
small
microscopic
milli
thousand
millipede
mis
wrong
misspell
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multi
many
multimillionaire
flect, flex
bend, turn
flexible
non
not
nonfat
fract/frag
break
fracture, fragment
octa
eight
octagon
geo
earth
geography
poly
many
polygon
grad/gress
by steps
gradual, progress
post
after
postpone
graph/gram
write
telegram
pre
before
pregame
hetero
different
heterogeneous
pro
forward
project
homo
same
homonym
pseudo
false
pseudonym
hydro
water
hydrate
quadr
four
quadruplets
init
beginning
initial
re
again
redo
ject
throw
project
sub
under
submarine
jus/jud/jur
law/right
justice, judge, jury
super
above/more than superhero
logy
science, study of
biology
tele
far away
telescope
mag
great
magnify
trans
across
transport
man
hand
manicure
tri
three
triple
mater
mother
maternal
un
not
unnecessary
meter
measure
centimeter
mis/mit
send
transmit
Sample Word
mono
alone/one
monotone
amphi/ambi
both ways
amphibian,
ambidextrous
mort
death
mortal
omni
all
omnivore
opt
sight, eye
optical
ortho
straight
orthodontist
pater
father
paternal
patho
suffering, feeling
sympathy
ped/pod
foot
pedal, tripod
peri
around
perimeter
phob
fear
arachnophobia
phon
sound
telephone
photo
light
photosynthesis
phys
nature
physical
port
carry
transport
prim/princ
first
primary, princess
psych
mind/soul
psychology
Root
Meaning
anthro
human
anthropology
aqua
water
aquarium
aud/audit
hear
audience
biblio
book
bibliography
bio
life
biology
cent
one hundred
centipede
chrome
color
chromatic
chrono
time
chronological
cogn
know
recognize
cracy
government
democracy
demo
people
democracy
dia
across/through
diagonal
dict
speak
dictate
Common Prefixes, Suffixes, and Word Roots 2
quer/quis/ques seek
query, question
terr
land
terrace
scope
see
telescope
theo
God
monotheism
scribe/script
write
manuscript
thermo
heat
thermometer
stat
stand
statue
var
different
varied
strict
tighten
restrict
vers, vert
turn
reverse
viv/vit
live
survive
syn, sym
together
synonym,
symbiotic
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Appendix E
Writing Tips
1. NO run ons. When you come to the end of a complete thought, put a comma and a conjunction, or a
period, or a semicolon—not just a comma.
2. Do not start a sentence with and, but, or so.
3. Avoid singular indefinites by rewriting (none, anyone, everyone, etc.). They cause confusion with the
singular verb and having to use his or her.
4. Avoid weak verbs like is and has. Also avoid the construction there is . . .
5. Avoid it unless it is clear to what it refers!
6. Say things in a brief manner.
7. Short words actually have more PUNCH than long
words, especially at the end of a sentence, where
words get more emphasis.
8. Write in the positive rather than the negative.
9. Subject/verb/object should be placed fairly close
together without a lot of words in between them.
Move words between them to the beginning of the
sentence, or give them a sentence of their own.
10. Make a sentence subject something that has been
referred to already in the paragraph, so the reader is
familiar with it.
11. Start most (⅔) of your sentences with the subject.
12. Don’t use compound subjects and compound verbs
together.
13. Use parallel form.
14. Avoid using too many contractions. Write out
abbreviations in most cases. Do not use slang or
dead words.
15. Mix long and short sentences.
Appendix F
Glossary
Abstract noun A noun that you cannot see, hear,
touch, taste, or smell. Examples: happiness, thought.
Examples: taller of the two girls, more fun than the
other game.
Active voice Writing in which the subject of the sentence is performing the action of the verb. Example: She
drove the car.
Complex sentence A sentence with one or more subordinate clauses and one independent clause. Example:
Although I am tired (subordinate), I will go with you
(independent).
Adjective One of the eight parts of speech. An adjective describes a noun or another adjective and usually
tells what kind or how many. Examples: purple, pretty.
Adverb One of the eight parts of speech. An adverb
describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb and
usually tells how, when, or to what extent. Examples:
slowly, very, now.
Agreement The rule that singular subjects go with
singular verbs, plural subjects go with plural verbs, singular pronouns go with singular antecedents, and plural pronouns go with plural antecedents.
Antecedent A pronoun stands in for a noun. That
noun is called its antecedent. Example: Mary brought
her book.
Appositive A phrase that adds more information to a
noun or pronoun. Example: Ben, my older brother, is
twelve years old.
Article The words a, an, and the. They are adjectives.
Clause A group of words that has a subject and a
verb. Example: That book, which I read last night, is
a mystery.
Collective noun A noun that even in its singular
form represents a group. Examples: group, flock, bunch,
herd.
Common noun A person, place, or thing that does
not begin with a capital letter. Examples: boy, dog,
house, radio.
Comparative The adjective or adverb form that is
used when comparing two things, the -er or more form.
Compound sentence A sentence with two or more
independent clauses. Example: I am tired, but I will
go with you.
Compound-complex sentence A sentence with one
or more subordinate clauses and two or more independent clauses. Example: Although I am tired (subordinate), I will go with you (independent) and I will have
fun (independent).
Concrete noun A person, place, or thing you can see,
hear, feel, taste, and/or smell. Examples: desk, teacher,
computer.
Dash (– en, — em) The en dash is used for ranges of
numbers and minus signs. The em dash is used for a
break in thought in a sentence.
Demonstrative pronoun The pronouns that are used
to point out: this, that, these, and those.
Direct object A noun or pronoun that generally
comes after the verb and receives its action. Example:
I threw the ball.
Double negative The use of two negatives, which
makes it a positive and is grammatically incorrect.
Examples: I don’t have no paper. I am not hardly ready.
Fragment A group of words that is intended to be a
sentence, but instead is an incomplete thought. Example: Because I said so.
Gerund A verb form ending in -ing that is used as a
noun rather than a verb. Example: Reading is my favorite hobby.
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Indefinite pronoun Pronouns such as anyone, anything, anybody, everyone, everything, everybody, someone, something, someone, none, few, and all. Most, but
not all, of these pronouns are singular.
Independent clause A sentence or complete thought.
Indirect object Noun or pronoun that receives the
direct object in a sentence. Example: He gave me the
map.
Infinitive A verb preceded by the word to. Example:
to run.
Intensive pronoun A pronoun that ends in -self or
-selves. Example: I myself baked that cake.
Interjection One of the eight parts of speech: a word
that expresses emotion. Example: ouch! wow! oh!
Interrogative pronoun The pronouns that are used
to ask questions: which, who, whom, whose, and what.
Irregular verb A verb that does not form its past
tense with the addition of -ed. Examples: run (ran), see
(saw), sit (sat).
Italics Tilted letters in print. You cannot write by
hand in italics.
Linking verb A verb that functions as an equal sign
in a sentence, where both sides of the verb are equal.
The most common linking verb is to be (am, are, is).
Example: He is a boy.
Lowercase Another word for small letters, as opposed
to capital letters (uppercase).
Noun One of the eight parts of speech: a person, place,
thing, or idea. Examples: car, dog, city, sofa, thought.
Objective case The pronoun forms that are used as
direct and indirect objects, and objects of a preposition.
They are me, us, her, him, them, and whom.
Participle A verb form, usually the past tense or -ing
form, that is used as an adjective. Example: I drove past
the burning building.
Passive voice Grammatical construction where the
subject of the sentence is not performing the action of
the verb. Example: I was driven to school.
Phrase A small group of related words that does not
contain both a subject and a verb. Examples: in the sun,
jumping constantly.
Possessive A form of a noun or pronoun that shows
ownership. Examples: hers, Susan’s, the children’s.
Predicate The simple predicate is the verb in the sentence. The complete predicate is the entire sentence
except the subject.
Preposition One of the eight parts of speech. A preposition is always the first word in a prepositional phrase.
The phrase usually tells where or when. Examples: in
the box, after the party.
Pronoun One of the eight parts of speech. A pronoun
takes the place of a noun. Examples: She, this, who,
someone, I.
Proper noun A noun that names a particular person, place, thing, or idea and begins with a capital letter.
Examples: John, Texas, Pacific Ocean, Buddhism.
Punctuation marks The symbols that make text
readable by telling the reader when to stop or pause.
Examples: periods, commas, colons, semicolons, quotation marks, dashes, hyphens, parentheses.
Reflexive pronoun
A pronoun that ends in -self or
-selves. Example: I made this pie myself.
Relative pronoun A pronoun that begins an adjective clause. They are that, which, who, whom, and whose.
Examples: This is the dress that I just bought. My neighbor, who lives next door, is from Italy.
Run-on sentence Two sentences with either no
punctuation or a comma separating them. There needs
to be either a period or semicolon separating them, or
a conjunction added after the comma. Example: The
flower is pink, it is very pretty.
Simple sentence A sentence that consists of just one
independent clause. Example: Jack and I went to the
movies.
Subject Noun or pronoun that the sentence is about.
The subject generally performs the action of the verb.
Examples: She saw the art exhibit. The dog bit the
young child.
Subordinate clause (dependent) A clause (group of
words with a subject and a verb) that is not a complete
thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence. Example:
although I received my driver’s license.
Glossary
Superlative The adjective or adverb form that is used
when comparing more than two things, the -est or most
form. Examples: tallest of all the girls, the most fun of
the three games.
Tense Form of a verb that tells when the action was
done. The most common tenses are past, present, and
future. Examples: I walk, I walked, I will walk.
Uppercase Another word for capital letters, as
opposed to small letters (lowercase).
2
151
Verb One of the eight parts of speech. Every sentence
needs at least one verb. Represents action or a state of
being. Examples: run, talk, cook, is, looks.
Voice Active or passive. Tells whether the subject
performs the action of the verb or not. Examples: She
baked a cake (active voice). A cake was baked by her
(passive voice).
Appendix G
Answers to Practices and Chapter Tests
Pretest
1. b. subject
2. c. and
3. c. is
4. a. ouch
5. c. verb
6. a. I
7. b. verb
8. b. Jack
9. b. book
10. d. imperative
11. a. into the house
12. b. singing loudly
13. d. Running down the street, the dog wouldn’t come
back.
14. a. to go to the store
15. d. a subject and a verb
16. a. sentence
17. a. because I can’t talk on the phone
18. c. She ran.
19. c. I didn’t go, he did.
20. c. Jack went up the hill, and Jill fell down.
21. I
22. me
23. He and I
24. whom
25. Who
26. Whom
27. who
28. this
29. his (Their is also acceptable in some style guides.)
30. is
31. is
32. his or her. (Their is also acceptable in some style
guides.)
33. is
34. c. As Bev was walking down the street, she waved
at Carol.
35. c. This dress was made for me!
36. d. I have gone to the movies three times this week.
37. b. I had run five miles before I fell.
38. b. She looked bad in that dress.
39. a. I have went to Alaska before.
40. b. If I were rich, I would be really happy.
41. a. The bell rung three times.
42. Mary, who had three dogs, was a real animal lover.
43. The book that has the old, torn cover belongs to me.
44. a. I am going to college next year, my sister is too.
45. d. Did she say that she can’t go with you?
46. b. The titles of books.
47. d. All of the above.
48. c. Hyphens are used in some compound words;
dashes are not.
49. My cat—I don’t know how she got there—was living
in the neighbor’s garage.
50. d. Both of these.
51. I work at the First National Bank in Boston.
52. Out of all the seasons, summer is my favorite.
53. I said, “Don’t go without me.”
54.“Take this book,” he said, “and return it to the library.”
55. The title of the movie is Once upon a Time in Rome.
56. Dear Mr. and Mrs. Foster:
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57. Yours truly,
John Jones, Jr.
91. principal
58. c. Neither Jim nor Pete is going.
93. lay
59. b. Neither the boy nor the girls are going.
60. taller
61. least
62. b. She likes pizza more than I.
63. a. Freshly painted, my car looked great when I
picked it up today.
64. d. None of the sentences is written well.
65. sister’s
92. their
94. led
95. Try to
96. whose
97. precede
98. past
99. fewer
100. lend
66. James’s
Chapter 1
67. sisters
68. I like to swim, to fish, and to lie in the sun.
69. Mrs. Apple, the president of the company; Mr. Jones,
the vice-president; Mr. Green; Ms. Young; Mr. Fox;
and I are going to the meeting. (Just change the
comma after Ms. Young to a semicolon.)
70. c. Five boys and three girls were in the class.
71. a. I was born on July 1, 1999.
72. c. I can barely finish this piece of cake.
73. c. There are too many A’s in this word.
74. b. I received a 70 percent on the quiz.
75. d. Separate two sentences with a comma and no
conjunction.
76. all right
77. hung
78. dual
79. Take
80. bad
81. discreet
Practice 1—Recognizing Nouns
1. cake, brother
2. idea, place
3. stamps, hobby, scrapbooks, photos
4. department, meetings, month.
5. award, happiness.
Practice 2—Recognizing Types of Nouns
1. New York City
2. soil
3. rules
4. band
5. Bob, Ireland, Buddhism
6. idea, sadness, Christianity, hunger
7. group, committee, tribe, bunch, collection
82. in to
Practice 3—Pronouns and Antecedents
83. emigrated
1. June
84. dessert
85. anyway
86. capital
87. as if
88. than
2. cake
3. They
4. lessons
5. Bob
89. it’s
Practice 4—Personal Pronouns
90. your
1. I, him, I
Answers
2. My, me, my
7. nothing
3. We, our
8. anything
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155
4. I, it
5. your, we
Practice 5—Demonstrative Pronouns
Practice 10—Pronoun Review
1. you—personal, I—personal, him—personal
2. which—interrogative, you—personal, I—personal
1. This is new.
3. this—demonstrative, that—relative, I—personal
2. I want some of those.
4. they—personal, something—indefinite,
themselves—reflexive/intensive
3. Please take some of these.
Practice 6—Interrogative Pronouns
1. None
2. Whom
3. None. Sentence isn’t a question.
4. Which
5. None
6. who, whom, whose, which, what
Practice 7—Relative Pronouns
1. that
2. who
3. whose
4. whom
Practice 8—Intensive/Reflexive Pronouns
1. myself
2. herself
3. himself
4. yourself
5. himself
Practice 9—Indefinite Pronouns
1. something
2. anyone
3. Everyone (some is an adjective)
4. All, most
5. None
6. None
5. I—personal, anything—indefinite, that—
demonstrative
6. you—personal, someone—indefinite, this—
demonstrative
Practice 11—Action Verbs
1. threw, caught
2. know
3. jumped, ate
4. wonder, likes
5. Tell
Practice 12—Linking Verbs
1. am
2. tastes
3. seems
4. None
5. is
Practice 13—Action and Linking Verbs
1. are—linking, is—linking
2. clean—action, mow—action
3. think—action, is—linking
4. is—linking, will (not) fit—action
5. shop—action, clean—action, visit—action
Practice 14—Tenses
1. have gone (or have been going—progressive)
2. will bake (or will be baking—progressive)
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3. had gone (or had been going—progressive)
Practice 19—Adverbs
4. will have taken (or will have been taking—progressive)
1. quietly
5. studied (or was studying—progressive)
6. plays (or is playing—progressive)
Practice 15—Regular Verbs
2. soon
3. slowly
4. too
5. tenderly, softly
1. rained
2. washed
Practice 20—Placement of Adverbs
3. studied
1. Carefully can be put at the very beginning or the
very end of the sentence. It can also be correctly
placed after we or walked.
4. played
5. graduated
Practice 16—Active and Passive Voice
1. active
2. passive
3. active
4. active
5. active
2. Soon can be put at the very beginning or the very
end of the sentence, and it can also be placed after
he or after will.
3. Sentence is best as it is written.
4. Contentedly would be better if it were placed after
purred.
5. Sentence is written well. Gladly can also be placed
after I.
6. passive
7. active
Practice 21—Prepositional Phrases
8. active
1. under the table
9. passive
10. active
Practice 17—Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
2. at the lake
3. into the house
4. around the track
5. to the museum
1. transitive (direct object: chess)
2. intransitive
Practice 22—Coordinating Conjunctions
3. transitive (direct object: suit)
1. but
4. transitive (direct object: cat)
5. transitive (direct object: report)
Practice 18—Adjectives
2. yet
3. or
4. and
5. nor
1. three, one, younger
6. so
2. the, tall, the
7. for
3. this, that, the
4. these, two, good
Practice 23—Subordinating Conjunctions
5. a, fabulous, Thanksgiving
1. although
2. because
Answers
3. until
2. b—proper
4. if
3. c—future
5. wherever
4. a—four (you, I something, your)
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5. b—three (that, interesting, difficult)
Practice 24—Interjections
Part 5
1. wow
1. Wow! or another appropriate interjection
2. help
2. a name, such as Suzie
3. ouch
3. around the track or another such phrase
Brain Challenges
4. her, him, or them.
5. will eat, will go to bed, or something similar.
1. no adverb
2. no preposition
3. no adjective
4. interjection and noun or pronoun
5. verb and adjective
Chapter 1 Test
How did you do? 31 is a perfect score.
27–31—Excellent!
24–27—Very good!
20–24—Pretty good!
Fewer than 20 correct—Need more review.
Part 1
1. around—f
Chapter 2
preposition
2. wow—h
interjection
3. desk—a
noun
Practice 25—Identifying Subjects
4. think—c
verb
1. I
5. but—g
conjunction
6. really—e
adverb
7. pretty—d
adjective
8. them—b
pronoun
2. You and Jane (compound subject)
3. boss
4. we
5. I
Part 2
6. Jack, Joan, and Fred (compound)
1. which
7. you
2. you
3. something
4. myself
5. this
6. who
Part 3 (counts as seven points)
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
8. you (In a command the subject is always you,
although many times it isn’t there. It is called the
implied you: [You] clean your room before dinner.)
Practice 26—Identifying Verbs
1. went
2. climbed, was (linking)
3. has (helping) given
Part 4
4. barked and growled (compound), walked
1. c—transitive
5. are (helping) going
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6. am (helping) going, is (helping) taking
7. tell (command; subject is the implied you.)
Practice 31—Predicate Adjectives and
Nominatives
1. beautiful (predicate adjective)
Practice 27—Subjects and Predicates
2. terrible, great (predicate adjectives)
1. The large dog/scared us.
3. none—action verb
2. Fourteen boys and nine girls/came to the party.
4. tall, taller (predicate adjectives)
3. The chocolate cake in the kitchen/is for dessert after
dinner.
6. actor (predicate noun)
Practice 28—Direct Objects
Practice 32—Types of Sentences
1. chess
1. Exclamatory
2. no direct object
2. Declarative
3. pizza and salad (compound)
3. Exclamatory
4. book
4. Interrogative
5. secret (tell what?)
5. Imperative
5. none—action verb
6. no direct object
7. sweater
Practice 29—Indirect Objects
1. you (direct object is tickets)
2. none
3. me (direct object is cake)
4. none
5. none
6. none (direct object is us)
7. Jim and me (direct object is collection)
8. sister (direct object is story)
Practice 30—Objects of Prepositions
1. class
2. artist
3. birthday, money
4. cousin and uncle (compound)
5. college
6. track, river
Chapter 2 Test
Part 1
1. Jim reads
2. You and I will walk
3. grapes taste
4. I received
5. dog ate and drank
Part 2
1. That big brown dog/attacked the neighbor yesterday.
2. Suzie, Jack, Holly, Mike, and all the others/are
invited to our party.
3. Dinner/consists of steak, potatoes, salad, and bread.
Part 3
1. coat—direct, me—object of preposition
2. me—indirect, gift—direct
3. morning—object of preposition, night—object of
preposition
4. me—direct, game—object of preposition
5. Paris—object of preposition, train—direct, countryside—object of preposition
Part 4
1. pretty—predicate adjective
Answers
2. tired—predicate adjective
3. to hand in (my report)
3. cheerleader—predicate nominative
4. to become (a doctor)
4. Santa Claus—predicate nominative
5. to eat (too many sweet things)
Part 5
1. dinner—direct, beach—object of preposition
2
Practice 35—Infinitives as Subjects and Objects
2. me—indirect, story—direct, rabbit—object of preposition, bear—object of preposition
1. to be an astronaut—subject
3. work—object of preposition, reports—direct, Friday—object of preposition
3. to see the new movie or the concert—object
4. tasty—predicate adjective, ripe—predicate adjective
5. him—indirect, tickets—direct, game—object of
preposition, Sunday—object of preposition
Part 6
The first sentence in part 5 is imperative.
How did you do? 23 is a perfect score.
21–23—Excellent!
159
2. to read that new book—object
4. To go to college—subject
Practice 36—Identifying Participles
1. running (after the car)— modifies dog
2. baked—modifies apple
3. frozen—modifies pond (skating is a gerund, not a
participle)
4. sitting (on my lap)—modifies dog
5. no participle
6. Sneezing and coughing—modify sister
18–20—Very good!
7. no participle
15–17 Pretty good!
8. chasing (the ball)—modifies dog
Fewer than 15 correct—Need more review.
Chapter 3
Practice 33—Prepositional Phrases
1. on the chair—adverb modifying slept
2. after dinner —adverb modifying wash
3. with the pillow—adjective modifying chair
4. under the tree—adverb modifying sitting
5. in blue—adjective modifying girl
6. around the park—adverb modifying walked
7. in the office—adverb modifying find
8. by Robert Frost—adverb modifying written
Practice 34—Infinitives
The rest of the infinitive phrase is in parentheses.
1. to go (to the movies)
2. to tell (the truth)
Practice 37—Identifying Gerunds
1. swimming
2. yelling
3. knitting
4. writing
5. tasting
Practice 38—Gerund or Participle?
1. running—participle (modifying I)
2. running—gerund
3. burning—participle (modifying building)
4. closing—participle (modifying she)
5. writing—gerund
6. reading and writing—gerunds
7. Lying—participle (modifying she)
8. talking—gerund and written—participle (modifying
instructions)
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Practice 39—Appositives
How did you do? 20 is a perfect score.
1. Jean
18–20—Excellent!
2. a psychology professor
16–17—Very good!
3. a pearl necklace
4. one of my favorites
5. peppers and olives
14–16 Pretty good!
Fewer than 14 correct—Need more review.
Chapter 4
Chapter 3 Test
Part 1
1. Smiling broadly—participial /for her birthday—
prepositional phrase
Practice 40—Independent Clauses
1. independent clause
2. his girlfriend—appositive/ in high school—prepositional phrase
2. independent clause
3. Walking through the park—participial /through the
park—prepositional phrase
4. independent clause
4. Giving gifts—gerundial/ receiving them—gerundial
3. not an independent clause
5. independent clause (Yes, it really is a complete
sentence. Since it is a command, the subject is you,
which isn’t always there, but is understood: You sit.)
5. Receiving a bicycle—participle/ for Christmas—
prepositional phrase/my cousin—appositive/to ride
it—infinitive
6. not an independent clause.
Part 2
8. not an independent clause; missing a subject
7. independent clause
1. swimming—participle modifying dog
2. going—gerund and subject
Practice 41—Subordinate Clauses
3. talking—gerund and object
1. c. My brother, who is visiting from China, is in
college.
4. frightened—participle modifying sister
5. speeding — participle modifying car
Part 3
1. to go
2. none
3. to see
4. to buy
5. none
Part 4
1. c. Jane
2. d. participle
3. a. prepositional phrase
4. c. prepositional phrase
5. d. none of those
2. d. Although it isn’t dinner time yet, I am really hungry. (Or, I am really hungry although it isn’t dinner
time yet.)
3. a. Stay in your seat until the game starts.
4. e. The blue dress, which I bought yesterday, was on
sale.
5. b. I am going this year because I couldn’t go last year.
(Or, Because I couldn’t go last year, I am going this
year.)
Practice 42—Identifying Adjective Clauses
1. that I just filled out—modifies application
2. none.
3. which I just made—modifies pasta
4. whose author I met at the meeting—modifies book
Answers
1. because I was in a traffic jam.
2. If my sister wants to go
3. since he moved away.
4. Wherever I go
5. although it is raining.
Chapter 4 Test
Part 1
1. Subordinate
2. Independent
3. Subordinate
4. Subordinate
5. Independent
6. Independent
7. Subordinate
Part 2
1. whenever I am with him—adverb
2. who is walking in front of us—adjective
3. that I am telling you—adjective
4. because I had a game that day—adverb
5. whose dog was lost—adjective
Part 3
1. who you are—object
2. whoever is making that noise —subject
3. whoever wants to go—object (of the preposition with)
Part 4 These answers are samples only. Yours will be
different.
1. Because it is cold, I am wearing a sweater.
2. That doll, which I really want, is very expensive.
(Your clause should start with which.)
3. Whoever is going should bring a heavy jacket.
4. You should take that vacation, although you think
you can’t afford it.
5. The pen that is on the table belongs to me. (Your
clause should begin with that.)
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Chapter 5
5. who is an expert on insects—modifies professor
Practice 43—Identifying Adverb Clauses
2
Practice 44—Identifying and Rewriting
Sentence Fragments
1. Fragment. Sample rewrite: You don’t have to pay us,
since the work isn’t done and we need to leave, but
we can come back tomorrow.
2. Complete sentence.
3. Complete sentence (simply written in an unusual
word order).
4. Fragment. Sample rewrite: I don’t know where he is
calling from.
5. Fragment. Sample rewrite: Because your mother
told you to go, you must go immediately.
Practice 45—Identifying and Correcting
Run Ons
1. Run on. These are all correct:
I ate pizza. My brother ate a hamburger.
I ate pizza; my brother ate a hamburger.
I ate pizza, and (or but), my brother ate a
hamburger.
2. Sentence. It may be long, but it is fine.
3. Run on. Then cannot connect two sentences.
I took the train, and then I had to take two buses to
get there.
I took the train; then I had to take two buses to get
there.
I took the train. Then I had to take two buses to get
there.
4. Sentence.
5. Run on. However isn’t used to connect sentences.
If you take out however, the rest of the sentence is
a run on. Here are some sample revisions:
She asked what kind of dog he wanted; however, he
was allergic to dogs, so he couldn’t have one.
She asked what kind of dog he wanted. However,
he was allergic to dogs, so he couldn’t have one.
She asked what kind of dog he wanted, but he was
allergic to dogs, so he couldn’t have one.
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Practice 46—Simple and Compound Sentences
1. Compound
2. Simple (with compound subject and object)
3. Compound
4. Simple (compound object)
5. Simple (compound subject and verb)
6. Simple
Practice 47—Complex Sentences
Of course your sentences will be different, but here are
some samples of what yours should resemble:
1. My pen, which I have been using every day, is out of
ink. (Your clause should start with which.)
2. Because I lost track of the time, I burned the cake.
3. I have met the president of the company, who is a
very rich man. (Your clause should start with who,
whom, or whose.)
4. My report is late, although I worked on it all week.
(Your clause may not need a comma.)
2. Because the movie was very long, I couldn’t stay
until the end.
3. Last weekend I went to visit my cousins in Nevada.
4. Running around the truck, I saw a cute bunny. (Running is a participle describing I.)
5. Becoming a doctor is my most important goal.
(Becoming a doctor is the subject of the sentence. It
is a gerund, or noun.)
6. To go to Paris is my greatest dream.
Chapter 5 Test
Part 1
1. Complex
2. Simple (with compound phrases, subjects, and verbs
3. Complex
4. Compound (using a semicolon instead of a comma
and conjunction
5. Compound-Complex
Part 2
5. I want whatever you are eating. (Your clause should
be the direct object of want: Want what?)
These are sample answers. Your answers will be different.
Practice 48—Identifying Sentence Structures
2. My mother, who had always wanted to be an actress,
has a part in a play.
1. Simple. One independent clause
2. Compound. Two independent clauses
3. Simple. One independent clause, although there are
some phrases.
4. Simple. One independent clause.
5. Complex.
6. Compound-Complex.
7. Complex
8. Simple. The text after the conjunction and is not a
complete sentence.
Practice 49—Writing Sentences with Different
Structures
1. This dress, which is faded and torn, is old.
3. I didn’t know this was a game that you loved to play.
(Begin with that, rather than which, because there is
no comma.)
Part 3
Answers are samples only.
1. Although I am very hungry, I won’t eat your cooking!
2. Don’t tell me a secret because I am not good at keeping them.
3. After I finished college, I got a great job!
Part 4 Add a noun clause to each sentence to make it a
complex sentence.
1. I don’t know what this movie is about.
(You may have figured out a way to write the sentence
that is not quite like my answer!)
2. Whatever you say, I will believe.
1. Fred, who is a great student, is my best friend. OR
Fred, who is my best friend, is a great student.
1. Last night I baked a cake.
Part 5 Answers are samples only.
Answers
2. Wandering through the zoo, I saw a lion.
5. Correct
3. To keep in good shape, I exercise every day.
6. Incorrect. Should be my husband and I
4. This pizza, which has vegetables on it, is the best
pizza I have ever eaten!
7. Correct
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How did you do? 17 is a perfect score.
Practice 53—Who and Whom as Interrogative
Pronouns
16–17 Excellent!
1. Who (predicate nominative)
2. Whom (direct object)
15—Very good!
13–14—Pretty good!
Fewer than 13 correct—Need more review.
Chapter 6
3. Whom (direct object)
4. To whom (object of preposition to)
5. Who (subject)
Practice 54—Whose and Who’s
1. Who’s
Practice 50—Using the Correct Pronoun Case
2. Whose
1. I—subject of the sentence
3. who’s
2. We—subject of the sentence
3. Me—object of the preposition to
4. Whom—object of the preposition for
5. Me—object of the preposition between
6. Us—object of the preposition to
7. He—subject of the sentence
8. Him and me—objects of the preposition to
9. Who—Predicate nominative
4. whose
5. who’s
Practice 55—Essential Versus Nonessential
Clauses
1. who
2. that
3. , who gave me a D,
10. Whom—direct object of dated
4. that
Practice 51—Using Demonstratives Correctly
6. that
1. This: Verb is singular and kind is singular.
2. These: Kinds is plural and the verb is plural.
3. That: Type is singular.
4. That: The sentence says it is over there.
5. This: If I am holding it, it is over here.
Practice 52—Using -self Pronouns
1. Incorrect. He and I, not myself.
2. Correct
3. Correct
4. Incorrect. Should be Joe and me, not myself.
5. , which is a state on the east coast,
7. , who doesn’t know the multiplication tables,
8. , which I bought on sale,
Practice 56—Singular Indefinite Pronouns
1. His or her (some style guides/people accept the singular their)
2. Her
3. Is
4. His or her (some style guides/people accept the singular their)
5. His
6. Is
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7. His or her (some style guides/people accept the singular their)
8. His
Practice 57—Indefinite Pronouns
1. is
2. are
3. are
4. her
5. is
6. is
Part 2
Your answers may be different.
1. As Beth drove by the park, she saw Maggie.
2. Eating cake, cookies, and ice cream before dinner
made me happy.
3. Bob and Joe were hiking up the mountain when Joe
fell and broke his leg.
4. Mother started to cry when she was yelling at my
sister.
5. I didn’t know that the homework was due yesterday,
and the report was due today.
7. his or her. (some style guides/people accept the singular their)
How did you do? 25 is a perfect score.
8. are
23–25 Excellent!
Chapter 6 Test
Part 1
1. Whose
21–22 Very good!
18–20 Pretty good!
Fewer than 18 correct—Need more review.
2. whom
Chapter 7
3. me
4. We
5. his or her (some style guides/people accept the singular their)
6. this
7. her
8. whom
9. I
10. me
11. us
12. their
13. who (Who is the subject of has been invited.)
14. Who (Who is the subject of was coming.)
15. his
16. me
17. I
18. who’s
19. that
20. which (Add comma after C.)
Practice 58—Tenses
1. I will eat dinner at six.
2. I have danced in New York.
3. I am going to Paris next year.
4. I had always gone to school with my sister.
5. I will have worked here for ten years.
Practice 59—Using Correct Tenses
1. I have gone there
2. I had gone there before I was five years old.
3. Correct.
4. In the book, Mary is looking for her long lost sister.
5. I was sitting in the movie theater and suddenly I saw
my cousin.
Practice 60—Irregular Verb Forms
1. swum
Answers
2. frozen
3. Correct
4. cost
5. threw
6. drunk
7. Correct
8. gone
9. torn
10. lent
11. led
12. lay
13. Correct
14. Set
15. Lay
Practice 61—Active and Passive Voice
1. Passive
2. Active
3. Active
4. Passive
5. Active
7. Correct.
Chapter 7 Test
Part 1
Choose the correct answer.
1. brought
2. shrank
3. frozen
4. well
5. she
6. lie
7. Set
8. weren’t
9. risen
10. be
11. have sat
12. burst
13. bad
14. growled
1. A mosquito bit him.
16. lain
2. ABC construction built the museum.
17. gone
3. The salesman drove the car.
18. were
4. The dog paced back and forth before his owner fed
him.
19. said
5. My aunt and her family donated the book to the
library.
Part 2
1. If I were you, I would call them.
2. Correct use of subjunctive.
3. She looks as if she is tired. No subjunctive. She actually is tired.
4. Correct use of subjunctive.
5. I recommend that you be there for the meeting.
Subjunctive needed for something recommended.
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6. I sure wish I were rich like you! Subjunctive needed
with verb wish.
15. laid
Practice 62—Using Subjunctive Mood
2
20. bad
1. Active
2. Active
3. Passive
4. Active
5. Active
Part 3
1. wanted (past)
2. is (present)
3. will have been(future perfect)
4. have seen (present perfect)
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5. are going (present progressive)
8. Correct.
9. This is, in my opinion, the wrong way to do it!
How did you do? 30 is a perfect score.
27–30—Excellent!
10. Correct. You don’t need a comma after a short introductory prepositional phrase (in December).
22–27—good!
Practice 65—More Comma Rules
19–21 Pretty good!
1. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in July 1990.
Fewer than 19 correct—Need more review.
Chapter 8
Practice 63—Some Important Comma Rules
1. Joe was late for work, but he was on time for the
meeting.
2. Please buy eggs, milk, bread, and butter when you
go to the store. Correct as is. You can also remove the
comma after bread. Either way is correct.
3. I was late for school and late for dinner too. Correct. No comma before and because this is not a compound sentence.
4. I bought a bright blue dress for the party. Correct as
is. Bright and blue go together and need no comma.
5. I found some valuable jewels in my grandmother’s
old, dusty trunk.
6. I brought pens, pencils, paper and a notebook. Correct as is, but you can put a comma after paper and
also be correct.
2. The population of Ourtown is 67,000.
3. The math department offers algebra, geometry, statistics, etc.
4. I, too, would love to visit France.
5. I agree, completely, that you need a vacation. (The
commas here are used for emphasis and are not
necessary.)
6. I love scary movies; therefore, I want to see the new
monster movie.
7. Correct.
8. I counted the books, and there are 75, 35 of them
children’s books.
9. There is an old saying, “Here today, gone tomorrow.”
10. What he meant, I don’t know.
Chapter 8 Test
1. Angie made a great presentation, and the audience
loved it.
2. Bring me a pencil, a pen and some paper, Jack. Correct. (You may add a comma after pen if you want.)
3. In June 2000, my sister was born in New York.
Practice 64—Commas for Introductory and
Interrupting Elements
4. The January 6, 1950, issue of this magazine is very
valuable.
1. My cousin, who is in college, is graduating next year.
5. Send the money to me at 555 Wisconsin St., Bakersfield, CA 93677.
2. Finally, I got a dog!
3. First, you must add this column, and then you can
subtract this number.
4. In the cupboard on the top shelf, you should see the
sugar.
6. My dog, whose name is Fred, is a terrier.
7. Because of the wind, we can’t sail today.
8. The difficult classes, e.g., calculus, are offered only
in the evening.
9. Correct as is.
5. Although I live far away from my sister, I see her
frequently.
10. The woman who is wearing the yellow hat is my aunt.
6. Correct as is. Jack is necessary to the meaning of the
sentence.
12. He cleaned the house and then mowed the lawn
7. Correct.
11. She is very thin, but very strong too.
Answers
13. When I took the exam for the second time, I passed
it; however, I did poorly the first time I tried it.
14. We visited an old, beautiful castle on a warm, sunny
day.
15. Uncle Joe, Aunt Betty, and I love to play Scrabble
whenever we have the chance.
16. As we were eating, ants invaded our picnic blanket.
17. The two dogs were black and white, and brown and
white, respectively.
18. Correct as is.
19. The suit that is on the back rack is on sale for $100.
20. John Rivers, M.D., received his degree from Winchell
College in Nebraska.
How did you do? 20 is a perfect score. You need to have
the sentence completely correct to get the score.
18–20—Excellent!
16–17—Very good!
14–16—Pretty good!
Fewer than 14 correct—Need more review.
Chapter 9
Practice 66—Using Periods
1. Dr. L. Martin, M.D. is my skin doctor.
2. My cousin, Walter Hummel, Jr. used to work for the
FBI.
3. He stands 6 ft and 3 in. tall.
4. I work at H. Hall Corp.
5. Please meet me at my house at 7:45 p.m.
6. Here is my address: 54 Elm St., Albany, NY.
Practice 67—Question Marks
1. She asked if I could go with her tonight. Not a question. Use a period.
2. Do you know the way?
3. Did she say, “I can’t go with you this time”? Whole
sentence is a question, but not the quote. Put question mark outside the quotes.
2
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4. Did he ask, “When will we be there?” Both the entire
sentence and the quoted portion are questions, so
use one question mark and put it inside the quotes.
5. He asked, “When will we be there?” The words inside
the quotes are a question, so put the question mark
inside the quotes.
Practice 68—Exclamation Points
1. She shouted that there was a fire in the kitchen. Use
your exclamation points very sparingly. You may or
may not choose to put one here.
2. She shouted, “There’s a fire in the kitchen!” The
quoted part of the sentence is an exclamation, so put
the exclamation point before the quotation marks.
3. I hate it when you say to me, “I forgot to call you”!
The entire sentence is an exclamation, but not the
part in quotes, so if you are going to use an exclamation point (and you do not need to), put it outside
the quotes. The mark belongs to the entire sentence.
4. If you are just joking, don’t ever shout, “There’s a fire
in the kitchen!” In this example, both the entire sentence and the quoted materials are both exclamations. Put the exclamation point inside the quotes.
Practice 69—Semicolons and Colons
1. semicolon
2. colon
3. colon
4. colon
5. semicolons
6. We invited Mr. and Mrs. Greeley, our next door
neighbors; Mr. Jagger, our realtor; and Mr. Thomas.
Use semicolons if you need to separate items that
already have commas in them. Note that if the Greeleys were not your next door neighbors and Mr. Jagger was not your realtor— but instead these were all
separate people—the commas would be fine. If the
Greeleys are your next-door neighbors, but Mr. Jagger and the realtor are not the same person, then you
would put a semicolon after Mr. Jagger, but leave
just the comma after the Greeleys. The punctuation
depends upon what each separate item in the series
actually is.
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7. correct.
Practice 71—Hyphens and Dashes
8. Please bring these items with you:
jacket
warm gloves
extra socks
1. Correct.
9. This sentence is correct. It is clear enough without
any punctuation.
10. I don’t know what is wrong with my computer; however, the technician might know.
11. I haven’t gotten paid yet and, therefore, I can’t buy
the gift yet. Unlike sentence 5, this sentence is correct and needs no semicolon. If you take out therefore and read the sentence, it is fine.
12. I have to wait for a phone call; then I can go with
you. This sentence is a run on without the semicolon
because then is not a conjunction.
Practice 70—Parentheses and Brackets
1. You can park for two hours (the parking lot is on
your left) if you have a parking pass.
2. Please look at page 75 (the figure of the dinosaur
[bottom left]) to see the complete skeleton. You can
avoid the brackets by simply putting a comma after
dinosaur and just using parentheses. It is a matter of
personal style.
3. The President was quoted as saying, “They [the Senate] will meet in a special session to discuss the new
laws.” You need brackets around the Senate because
if you didn’t hear the actual speech, you would not
know what the President meant by they.
2. My cat—he disappeared for eleven days—had gone
all the way over to the next neighborhood. Em dash
3. Please read the information on pages 6–8. En dash
4. The two-and-a-half-year-old boy was climbing the
tree. Hyphens
5. Tom Bowers (1903–1969) lived in this house. En
dash
6. I don’t know—perhaps you do—what time the wedding begins. Em dash
7. I have seen a number of purple-haired people in the
parade. Hyphen
8. The girl is three years old. Correct as it. It needs no
hyphens because three years old comes after girl. It
is treated differently than three-year-old girl.
Practice 72—Italics
1. incoherent
2. I
3. Correct as is. A la carte is common and needs no
italics.
4. Lucille
5. blonde. This one is optional. You could put blonde in
italics to emphasize that it is blonde and not brown.
6. Correct as is. This is the type of plane, not its name.
7. The Silent Spring
4. Uncle Morris (1899–1990) was quite a famous artist.
Practice 73—Italics Versus Quotations
5. We are leaving the children with a babysitter tomorrow evening (no children are allowed in the theater).
Here are two other choices:
1. “The Order of Operations.”
• We are leaving the children with a babysitter
tomorrow evening. (No children are allowed in
the theater.) or
• Because no children are allowed in the theater,
we are leaving the children with a babysitter.
2. Mona Lisa
3. Star Wars
4. From Now to Then, “Going to the Future”
5. Honey
6. Gone with the Wind
7. The Book of Mormon
8. The New York Times, “Children and Technology”
9. Time magazine. If magazine were part of the actual
title, it would be capitalized and also in italics.
10. Sue
Answers
Practice 74—Quotation Marks
1. Judy said, “I think it is going to rain today.”
2. Correct as it is. It is an indirect quote, so no quotation marks are used.
3. Correct as is. There is no need for quotation marks
around yes and no.
4. I hired her because of her “I can do anything”
attitude.
5. Correct as it is. No quotations marks are needed
around common idioms.
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6. To whom it may concern: (greeting to business
letter)
7. I love the television show Detectives of New York,
and my favorite episode is called “The Man in the
Tan Shirt.”
8. It is a cold, rainy day.
9. This book, which was written by William Golding,
is my favorite.
10. Correct as is
11. Correct as is
6. “‘Yesterday’ is one of my favorite Beatles songs,” she
said. Use quotations around the quoted part of the
sentence. Use single quotes around the song title
“Yesterday.” (For quotes inside of quotes, use single
quotes.)
12. “I don’t know if I will ever get over this . . . ,” she said
as her voice trailed off.
7. “I am running late,” she said, “and I will probably miss
the beginning of the movie.”
15. The only four items on the agenda are budgets, vacations, report formats, and marketing. The comma
after formats is not necessary.
8. She asked me if I would like to see her new “digs,”
which she just painted and carpeted. Since digs here
means room and is a slang term, put it in quotation
marks.
9. The box was marked “fragile,” so I put it away in the
closet right away.
10. Please do some “backwards planning” before you
complete these lesson plans. Place quotation marks
around jargon the first time you use it.
11. In his speech the valedictorian began with the following words: “This is a day all you graduates will
remember. Wherever life takes us, we will remember the friends we made in this place.”
12. “I don’t think we can solve this problem,” he said.
“I think we will need to hire outside help.”
13. I packed these three items for my hike: water, a jacket,
and a knife. The comma after jacket is optional.
14. I was born on August 10, 1980, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
16. I did not do very well on the test, however, so I failed
the course. However is an interrupter here and needs
only commas around it.
17. The word collaborate means “to work together.”
18. Correct as is
19. My neighbor—he was gone for five months—sailed
around the world. or
My neighbor (he was gone for five months) sailed
around the world.
20. Please read the information on pages 60–85. (Place
the correct mark between the numbers).
21. My six-and-a-half-year-old cousin looks like my
sister.
22. Jean Smith, M.D. has just started to work here.
1. I finished the project; should I send it to you?
I finished the project. Should I send it to you?
I finished the project, so should I send it to you?
Any of these three ways would be correct.
23. I think you should pack these clothes for the trip: a
suit; shoes; black, brown, and white socks; and three
shirts. You can rewrite the series, but if you want to
leave it as it is, it can be confusing unless you use
the semicolons to divide the main items in the series.
The three colors belong to the socks.
2. Correct as is.
24. Yes, Elaine, the party is at my house.
3. He said, “I heard the song ‘Forget You.’”
25. My address is 6800 Park St., Albany, New York 01987;
please send my mail there, not to my old address.
Chapter 9 Test
4. Life of Pi didn’t win the Oscar.
5. Bob was usually a quiet man; however, he screamed
upon entering the room.
26. Although this food tastes terrible, I will eat it anyway.
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27. I failed the test because I didn’t study. Here, you
don’t need a comma. If you flipped the sentence
around to Because I didn’t study, I failed the test, you
would need a comma. However, when the dependent adverb clause is at the end of the sentence, you
often don’t use a comma.
28.“I am running late,” she said, “and I will probably miss
the beginning of the movie.”
29. I love his “can’t fail” attitude.
30. I can’t believe—since I didn’t do anything wrong—
that I got fired. You can use a dash here to indicate
a break in thought. You can also put that section
in parentheses. However, you might just want to
rewrite the sentence: Since I didn’t do anything
wrong, I can’t believe that I got fired.
Practice 76—More Capitalization
1. french
2. Correct as is.
3. Sirs: (letter closing) Yours truly
You would likely want to capitalize Sirs, since it is a
title. The closing is correct.
4. president
5. Chapter
6. algebra
7. Correct as is.
8. thirties
9. Algebra II
10. of, Is
11. east
12. malamute
How did you do?
25–30 sentences correct—Excellent!
20–25 sentences correct—Pretty darn good!
Under 20 correct—You might need a bit more practice.
13. Room
14. Irish
15. South
16. Future
17. President
Chapter 10
Practice 75—Basic Capitalization Rules
1. I , spring
2. Fourth
3. I’m, Aunt
4. election
5. moon
6. basketball, team
7. gods
8. Correct as is.
9. Correct as is. President is usually not capitalized
unless it is followed by the President’s name, except
in the case of the President of the United States.
10. We, Mountains, hotel.
11. What
12. Until
18. Thirty-third
19. mid-Texas
20. Two
Chapter 10 Test
1. Army
2. Times
3. winter
4. Chapter
5. Day, mom, Cousin, parade. (If the sentence said
Mom, instead of my mom, Mom would be capitalized. And if the sentence said my cousin Frankie,
cousin would not be capitalized.)
6. Correct as is
7. Middle East, Mom, Dad
8. Mayor
9. moon
10. Correct as is
11. yours
Answers
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7. fragment. Possible correction: The filling of the pie
consists of apples, cinnamon, chocolate chips, and
butter, all mixed together.
12. Better
13. School, I
14. Correct as is.
8. run-on sentence. You need a question mark after
coming, rather than a comma.
15. sociology
16. Correct as is
9. complete sentence.
17. Who’s
18. Is, All, Beatles, sixties
19. north
20. dalmations, setter, animal, shelter
10. complete sentence. A sentence needs a subject and
a verb. The verb is come. It is a command, so the
subject is the implied you.
21. Italian-speaking, English
Practice 78—Agreement
22. Twenty-third
1. is
23. Scouts,piano, lessons, Ph.D.
24. Bridge
2. walk
3. have
25. college, sales
4. is
How did you do? 25 sentences all correct is a perfect
score.
23–25—Excellent!
5. lives
Practice 79—More Agreement
1. are
20–23—Very good
2. is
Fewer than 20—Need more review
Chapter 11
Practice 77—Run Ons and Fragments
3. has
4. were. If a singular and a plural noun or pronoun are
connected with or, use the verb that agrees with the
noun or pronoun that is closer to the verb.
5. is
1. complete sentence.
Practice 80—More Agreement
2. fragment. Sample correction: Since everyone will be
bringing a snack to share, I don’t have to do much
cooking.
1. is bringing her lunch
3. complete sentence.
3. are
4. run-on sentence. You can correct it by either
(1) using a semicolon instead of the comma, (2) adding a conjunction like and after the comma, (3) using
a period instead of a comma and capitalizing the s
in some.
5. fragment. Sample correction: I may be having a costume party.
6. complete sentence.
2. are taking their vacations (Uncles is closer to the
verb; use the plural.)
4. There is no good answer here. You can’t use his because
you also have a female. You can’t use her because you
also have a male. His or her may be technically okay,
but it sounds silly. The best answer is their, used in
the singular, which is sometimes considered grammatically correct these days, although I don’t like it.
Rewriting the sentence to avoid the troublesome pronoun would be the best answer: This is the first time
that either John or Kate is singing in a concert.
5. are
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Practice 81—More Agreement
1. is
2. is
3. Everyone who has a ticket can take (his or her, their)
seat now. Everyone is singular, even though it sounds
plural. We know that because it uses a singular verb
(everyone is). Depending on whom you ask, you can
use their as a singular pronoun. You can choose
whether or not to use it.
4. are
5. are
6. is
7. was
8. is. None of can be either singular or plural when the
noun in the phrase following it is plural (boys). Usually, however, it is thought of as “not one of” and is
thus singular, taking a singular verb.
9. Is
10. All of the bridesmaids wore purple dresses.
11. Correct. Here, the band is thought of as many individual players.
12. Correct. The company is thought of as one unit here.
13. The family are all going their separate ways for
Christmas this year.
14. One of the men is wearing a red hat.
action verb talks. Yes, loud can be used as an adverb,
but it’s not the best choice. It is called a flat adverb.)
11. tallest
12. worse
13. less
14. I (She is shorter than I am.)
15. more truthful
Practice 83—Misplaced Modifiers
1. Possible correction: Wearing glasses, he read from
his new book.
2. Possible correction: While I was watching the evening news, I heard about the volcano.
3. Possible correction: While I was still in diapers, my
mother went back to college.
4. Correct as is.
5. Possible correction: I knew it was time to feed my
hungry dog when she started growling loudly.
6. Possible correction: I took the freshly baked cookies
out of the oven.
7. Correct as is.
8. Here is a better way to write the sentence: Many
people in the audience congratulated her and gave
her flowers after her performance.
15. All of the students are carrying dogs. (Unless they
are all carrying the same dog!)
9. Possible correction: The employees who attended
the meeting said there would be a follow-up discussion at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Practice 82—Comparison
10. The writer of this sentence probably meant the bag
with the books: Take this bag with all the books and
go to the library.
1. taller
2. I (more than I like school)
3. me (more than she likes me)
4. smarter
5. more fun
6. less
7. more fragile
8. more
Practice 84—Possessives
1. Glass’s
2. brother’s
3. children’s
4. its
5. sisters’
9. the least
6. boss’s
10. more loudly (Trick question: One choice is an adjective and the other is an adverb. They are both comparative. Use the adverb, since it is modifying the
8. ours
7. Socrates’
9. Whose
Answers
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10. Clarks’
4. Correct
11. horse’s
5. I have only 50 cents left in my pocket because I spent
$25 at the movies.
12. John and Jane’s. Since we are talking about one house,
we need only one of the names to be possessive.
13. John’s and Jane’s. Here we put both names in the
possessive because we are talking about separate
houses for each of them.
14. my mother and father’s
15. Hers
Practice 85—Parallel Structure
There may be other ways of correcting these in addition
to the way or ways shown.
1. I love shopping, going to the movies, and eating out.
(Or, I love to shop, to go to the movies, and to eat
out.)
2. I thought I would do well on the exam because
I memorized all the words and I made flashcards.
(You can also leave out the third I.)
6. There are over three million people in our county.
7. Correct
8. Correct
9. Three fourths of the class is on a sports team.
10. Correct
11. Correct
12. Correct
13. I have a problem writing 5s so that you can read
them. (5 is in italics because it is a number used as
itself. The s is not italicized.)
14. This is correct because there is a comma between
the two numbers to eliminate confusion. However,
it might be better to rewrite and separate the numbers: There are 50 teenagers out of a total count of
150 people.
15. There are sixty-five poems in this anthology.
3. Here are the things you need to do: Go to the library.
Return all the phone messages. Pick up the groceries. Take out the trash.
16. Could you please write your 2s more clearly?
4. Here is the agenda for the meeting:
Introduce new members
Read the minutes
Discuss new issues
Review old issues
Close the meeting
19. I begin my workday at 9 a.m.
17. Correct
18. Correct
20. I begin my workday at eight in the morning.
Practice 87—Double Negatives
1. I don’t want any more pizza.
5. Whenever I think of you, I remember going fishing
and going to that concert at midnight. Or, Whenever I think of you, I remember when we went fishing and went to that concert at midnight.
4. I barely ate anything for dinner.
Practice 86—Numbers
6. Correct
1. The class is made up of nine boys and eighteen girls.
or
The class is made up of 9 boys and 18 girls.
8. Correct
2. Three hundred and fifty people were in the audience.
or
There were 350 people in the audience.
3. My birthday is on September 6. or
My birthday is on the 6th of September.
2. Correct as is.
3. We could scarcely see in the fog.
5. Correct
7. Correct
Practice 88—Plurals with Apostrophes
1. Photos
2. a’s. Needs the apostrophe to avoid confusing it with
the word as.
3. 1950s
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4. sixties
5. Correct. This is not plural. It is possessive and needs
an apostrophe.
6. cousins
7. ABCs is not confusing without the apostrophe, so do
not use an apostrophe.
8. Correct
9. girls
6. Spell out Street, particularly because you don’t have
the rest of the address, and it is the last word of the
sentence.
7. Problem: It is best to rewrite the sentence to avoid
the use of the singular they: All students should
bring their test booklets.
Chapter 11 Test
10. Correct
1. I think Jane is prettier than Ellen.
Practice 89—Clarity
3. Mayor Jones, along with two of the police officers, is
coming to the court.
There are many ways to rewrite these sentences.
1. Possible rewrite: Having a good time on this trip was
important to me.
2. Possible rewrite: I saw Ben and Joe on the rollercoaster, and Ben waved. (Or it could have been Joe
who waved!)
3. This sentence is fine as it is.
4. This sentence is fine as it is. It is assumed that the
person questioned knows which two books are in
question.
5. Possible rewrite: Last week I saw two movies, which
were pretty good.
6. Possible rewrite: At the park Joe saw his cousin, who
stopped to talk to Joe.
7. Possible rewrite: I have a deadline of Tuesday at
work.
8. Possible rewrite: (First sentence is fine) Getting a
large raise this year is unheard of!
Practice 90—Can I Do These Things?
1. Problem: Could’ve should be written as could have.
2. Problem: Doc should be written as Dr. The abbreviation Dr. is fine; you do not need to use Doctor.
3. Problem: Cool is slang here. Use another word, such
as challenging or interesting.
4. Problem: Eliminate the so from the beginning of the
sentence.
5. Problem: Leave out bunch. It is slang.
2. There are three choices for dinner.
4. My class consists of 15 girls and 7 boys. (Make the
numbers consistent, either way.)
5. I picked up my ring, polished until gleaming, from
the jeweler.
6. I walked to work in the morning, ran two miles at
lunch, and rested at home after work.
7. I can hardly see you hiding in the closet!
8. Correct as is!
9. I wish you would have come with us.
10. I will meet you at 8 a.m.
11. Possible correction: I didn’t stop because I didn’t see
you coming.
12. Neither my cousin nor I sees the point in this
argument.
13. This is my younger sister’s doll; I bought it for her
birthday.
14. During my interview I told the boss that I had several years of experience.
15. My brother swims much better than I.
16. The president of the club, but not the other officers,
has special privileges.
17. I have the report for you; I think it is complete. (runon sentence. Use semicolon or period.)
18. One of us is going to be promoted. (One uses a singular verb.)
19. He is the least intelligent of the four brothers.
20. All these boys play clarinets.
21. The cast of the play are going over their lines before
the opening. This is technically correct, since the cast,
a collective noun, is being thought of as individuals,
Answers
rather than one group, in this sentence. You can use
a plural noun.
22. With whom are you going to the meeting? (It is better not to end with the preposition.)
23. All campers who are going with us should pack their
heaviest clothes. (Avoid using their as a singular by
rewriting to make the subject plural.)
24. I took some pictures on my business trip to Paris.
5. clothes
6. all right
7. dual
8. advice
9. capital
10. discreet
11. allusion
25. Reading six books over vacation was a great deal of
reading for me! (There are two mistakes here. First,
the which is unclear. Then, alot is informal. If you are
going to use it, it is two words: a lot.)
12. dived, dove (Either one is correct.)
26. Where will my office be if I am hired? (The and is
unneeded; avoid starting sentences with conjunctions in formal writing or speaking.)
16. already
27. There are 1650 people working in this building.
28. I saw a beautiful poodle as I was driving to work this
morning. (Last time I checked, poodles couldn’t
drive!)
29. Both Sue and her brother are going with us.
30. Fragment. Possible correction: I am exhausted from
getting up early, going to work, having an important
lunch date, going to the gym, having guests for dinner, and reading for an hour before going to bed. (It
may be long, but it isn’t a sentence as it was originally written.)
How did you do? 30 is a perfect score.
28–30—Excellent!
22–24—Pretty good!
Fewer than 22 correct—Need more review.
Chapter 12
Practice 91—Confusing Words A Through D
2. take
3. by accident
4. criteria
13. anyway
14. uninterested
15. complimented
17. effect
18. alter
19. site
20. Almost
21. anymore
22. bring
23. affects
24. among
25. should have
26. complements
27. illusion
28. desert
29. bad
30. climatic
31. advise
25–27—Very good!
1. all together
2
32. all ready
33. duel
34. disinterested
35. discrete
36. dessert
37. continuously
38. conscious
39. Any one
40. any more
Practice 92—Confusing Words E Through H
1. well
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2. healthy
14. laid
3. formerly
15. It’s
4. First
16. imply
5. fewer
17. lain
6. etc.
18. libelous
7. have
19. lay
8. hung
20. if
9. healthful
10. semicolon
Practice 94—Confusing Words M Through P
11. Everyone
1. might
12. i.e.
13. Earth
14. formally
15. hanged
16. comma
17. good
18. farther
19. former
20. immigrating
21. further
22. every one
23. earth
24. imminent
25. e.g.
2. many
3. precedes
4. is
5. past
6. mute
7. importantly
8. may
9. are
10. principal
11. proceeding
12. passed
13. is
14. principles
15. I have only ten dollars
Practice 93—Confusing Words I Through L
Practice 95—Confusing Words R and S
1. as if
1. shone
2. lose
3. infer
4. in to
5. couldn’t
6. lying
7. whether
8. led
9. its
10. leave
11. fewer
12. like
13. lend
2. some time
3. respectively
4. really
5. rose
6. Set
7. soul
8. stationery
9. Sometimes
10. will
11. sole
12. say
Answers
13. regrettable
12. all together
14. Respectfully
13. cited
15. regretful
14. infer
16. shined
15. Any one
17. stationary
16. fewer, less
18. set
17. respectively
19. sometime
18. compliments
20. Tell
19. already
20. all right
Practice 96—Confusing Words T through Z
21. Earth, earth (Either one is okay.)
1. this
22. desert
2. toward (Either one is okay, but toward is preferred
in American English.)
23. laid
24. allusion
3. whose
25. sole
4. than
26. disinterested
5. to
27. it’s
6. May Day
28. advice
7. warranty
29. as if
8. whether
30. all ready
9. try to
31. criteria
10. you’re
32. discreet
11. there
33. almost
12. semicolon
34. badly
13. “In the Spring”
35. could have
14. your
36. effects
15. Who’s
37. anymore
38. principles
Chapter 12 Test
39. past
1. by accident
40. complements
2. capital
3. affects
4. uninterested
5. regrettable
6. principal
7. bring
8. altar
9. stationary
10. dual
11. i.e.
41. farther
42. lying
43. well
44. Who’s
45. into
46. every one
47. discrete
48. any more
49. formerly
50. lend
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51. none of them
90. Story of a Boy?
52. have
91. continuously
53. couldn’t
92. proceed
54. precedes
93. Respectfully
55. lose
94. than
56. hanged
95. warranty
57. immigrated
58. further
59. healthful
60. its
61. illusion
62. formally
63. hung
How did you do? 95 is a perfect score.
90–95—Excellent!
85–89—Very good!
80–84—Pretty good!
Fewer than 80 correct—Need more review.
64. Earth
65. imply
Final Test
66. fewer
67. eminent
68. former
69. take
70. like
71. e.g.
72. whether
73. soul
74. You’re
75. Set
76. led
77. lain
78. slanderous
79. is
80. passed
81. “Yesterday”
82. I made only fifty cents at my lemonade stand.
83. this
84. you’re
85. try to
86. whose
87. lay
88. is
89. some time
Part 1 English Language Basics
1. c. direct object
2. d. of
3. c. is
4. d. but
5. a. verb
6. c. I
7. d. verb
8. b. Jack
9. b. book
10. d. imperative
11. a. into the house
12. d. frozen food
13. d. Running down the street, the dog wouldn’t come
back.
14. a. to go to the store
15. d. a subject and a verb
16. d. sentence
17. a. after I watch the movie
18. c. She ran.
19. c. I didn’t go, he did.
20. c. Jack went up the hill, and Jill fell down.
Answers
Part 2: Sentence Correction
21. Jamie, Paul, and I . . .
22. You should have given . . .
23. He and I loved that movie; did you like it? (You can
also use a period rather than a semicolon.)
24. With whom are you going?
25. Correct
26. Correct
27. Do you want this kind of pencil or the newer ones?
28. Anyone who is on the boys’ soccer team can buy his
uniform here. (or boys with no apostrophe)
29. Neither of my brothers is coming with us.
30. Correct
31. A group of students are studying in the library. (or
many students; avoid using bunch.)
32. Either the dogs or the baby is making a mess.
33. As John was walking down the street, he waved to
his friend. (There are other ways to fix this sentence
as long as you make it clear whom he refers to.)
34. I read the book, and I really enjoyed it. (Avoid passive tense.)
35. I have gone to the movies three times this week
already.
36. I baked brownies last night; would you like one?
(Delete have.)
37. I did really well on that test, which I thought was
really difficult.
38. Correct
39. If I were taller . . .
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45. Did she ask, “Can I go with you?”(Question mark
goes before quotes. Also add comma after ask.)
46. I think my favorite song is “Summertime.”
47. This recipe needs salt, sugar, flour, milk, three types
of chocolate, and four eggs. Delete the colon.
48. She is the mother of a four-year-old boy who is in
the kindergarten class I teach.
49. My cat—I don’t know how she got there—was living in the neighbors’ garage. (Em dashes instead of
hyphens; no spaces around them; neighbors should
be possessive, either singular [neighbor’s] or plural.)
50. I read this quote in the newspaper: “Governor Ferry
said that these [the new taxes] would help pay for
the roads to be fixed.”
51. She attends Proctor High School in Memphis, Tennessee. (Delete comma after School and add one
after Memphis.)
52. Correct
53. She said that the weather should be nice today.
Delete quotation marks.
54.“Take this book,” he said, “and return it to the library.”
55. The title of the movie is Where Is Mr. Jones? (Italicize
title, remove quotes, and capitalize the I in Is.)
56. Dear Mister Duple:
I am applying for the accounting position at Tickner,
Inc.
57. Yours truly,
John Jones, Jr.
58. Jim, along with his friends, is going to see a concert.
59. All the girls are wearing long dresses to the school
prom.
40. I had rung the bell five times before she answered
the door. (Delete comma.)
60. “Which of your two poodles is taller?” she asked.
41. The dress that I am holding is on sale. (Delete both
commas.)
62. He likes to swim more than I,
42. I, too, like chocolate.
43. Jack, Ben, and I are going, but John, Frank, and he
are not. (You can use a semicolon after going instead
of the comma.)
44. I am going to college next year, and my two sisters
are too. (Delete apostrophe in sisters. You can also
use a semicolon instead of and, or even use a period
and make it two sentences.)
61. Correct
63. Possible correction: Since my car was finally repaired,
I picked it up from the shop today.
64. Possible correction: She asked me if I read about
earthworms, written about in the science book.
65. Both of my sisters are going, but we aren’t taking
either of their cars. (Delete apostrophe in sisters.)
66. I would have gone to Thomas’s house,
67. Correct
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Best Grammar Workbook Ever
68. After I go to the gym, I will pick up my dry cleaning and then go to the movies. (Delete comma after
cleaning.)
83. Many people have always immigrated to the United
States from other countries.
69. I met the following people at my interview: Ann
Jones, the company president; the human resources
manager; Phil Cole, a project manager; and a scientist. (There are many ways to clarify the series; it
depends on which parts go together.)
85. Well, I didn’t want any cake anyway, did you?
70. Five boys and six girls are in the class, which is small.
71. I was born in June 1982 in Boston. (Delete the
comma after June.)
72. I can barely finish this piece of cake. (Delete
anymore.)
73. You put too many a’s in the word accommodate. (a
and accommodate should be in italics.)
74. They stole almost 75 percent of my money! (Reverse
the order of stole and almost.)
75. I asked him if he was all right; I asked him again
when he didn’t reply. (Avoid starting the sentence
with and.)
76. Correct.
77. After we hung the pictures on the wall, the apartment looked really good.
78. Correct.
79. Take these bottles back to the store, and get some
money for them.
80. Do you feel as bad as I do . . .
81. I would appreciate if you would separate these essays
into three discrete piles according to grade.
82. I turned the truck onto Benson Drive and went
straight from there.
84. Correct.
86. We visited the capitol building when we visited the
state capital.
87. Because she acted as if she were a professional
actress, you could tell she thought she deserved the
lead in the play.
88. Correct
89. My dog ate all its food this morning, an unusual
occurrence. (The which is unclear, so the sentence
should be rewritten.)
90. Correct.
91. The principal rule of the game is to get the ball in the
basket. (Delete the comma after game.)
92. The band have been tuning up their instruments for
the past hour.
93. After the storm the rocks were lying all over the road.
94. He led the class in math, but he wasn’t very good in
English.
95. I am going to try to get a job in sales.
96.“Whose briefcase is this?” she asked.
97. If you will proceed with this project,
98. Since I live farther away from school than you do,
I always go past the mall.
99. I have only five pencils, and she has even fewer
than I.
100. If you can lend me five dollars, we can take my sister to the movies.
Index
a.m., 106
abbreviations
when to use, 109
periods and, 77
abstract nouns, 14
academic degrees, commas with, 73
acronyms, periods with, 76
action verbs, 18–21
active voice, 20, 65
addresses, commas in, 73
adjective clause, 40–41
adjectives, 14, 21–22
commas with, 21, 70
comparative form, 100–101
comparison, 100–101
demonstrative, 22
linking verbs and, 64–65
nouns used as, 22
predicate, 30–31
proper, 22, 89
superlative form, 100–101
adverb clause, 41–42
commas with, 41
adverbs
comparative form, 100–101
ending in -ly, 22
not ending in -ly, 22
placement of, 22–23
superlative form, 100–101
agreement
collective nouns and, 99
compound subjects and, 97–98
confusion with, 96–100
indefinite pronouns and, 98–99
interrupting words and phrases and,
96–97
plural indefinite pronouns and, 98–99
pronoun/antecedent, 56–57, 97–99
pronoun/verb, 56–57
singular indefinite pronouns and, 98–99
subject/verb, 98–99
alphabetical list of confused words, 113–127
and, starting a sentence with, 109–110
and between subjects, agreement and, 97
answers to practices and tests, 153–180
antecedents, 14–15
agreement with pronoun, 97–99
unclear, 58, 108–109
apostrophes, plurals and, 107–108
appositives
definition of, 36
commas with, 36
articles, 14, 22
in prepositional phrases, 23
barely, in double negatives, 107
book titles, colons in, 80
brackets, 81–82
parentheses and, 81–82
quotes and, 82
use of, 82
business letters, colons in, 80
but
commas and, 74
starting a sentence with, 109–110
capitalization, 89–94
beginning a sentence, 89
chapter, page, room, etc., 92
decades and, 92
directions and, 91
dog breeds and, 92
email greeting and closings and, 91
God versus god, 90
hyphenated words and, 92
of pronoun I, 89
of question within a sentence, 89
President versus president, 91–92
proper nouns and, 89
school courses and, 92
titles and, 90–91
verbs in titles, 91
words before numbers, 92
cases, pronoun
nominative, 51, 52
objective, 51, 52
possessive, 51
clause versus sentence, 39
clauses, 39–43, 47–48
adjective, 40–41
adverb, 41–42, 47–48, 49
commas in, 40, 41, 71
definition of, 39
dependent, 39, 40, 41, 42
essential, 40–41, 55–56
independent, 39
nonessential, 40–41, 55–56
noun, 42
parallelism in, 104
subordinate, 24, 39–42, 46, 47–49
collective nouns, 14
agreement and, 99
colons
between sentences, 46
book titles with, 80
business letter salutation, 80
compound sentences and, 80
digital time and, 80
introducing quotes with, 80
lists and, 81
using with quotation marks, 86
comma rules, 69–75
commands
subject of, 31
subjunctive mood and, 66
commas
academic degrees with, 73
addresses and, 73
between sentences, 46, 47
between two adjectives, 70
but with, 74
company names and, 73
compound sentences and, 69–70
confusing text, avoiding with, 8.7
contrasting elements with, 73
dates and, 72
direct address and, 73
emphasis and, 73
etc. with, 72
however with, 74
in nonessential clauses, 40–41
in salutations, 73–74
left out words with, 73
numbers and, 72
Oxford, 69
restrictive elements and, 71–72
run-on sentences and, 95
therefore with, 74
unusual word order with, 74
use in series, 69
using with quotation marks, 86
when not to use, 74–75
when to use, 69
with adjectives, 21
with adverb clauses, 41
with appositives, 36, 71–72
with conjunctions, 24
with e.g., 72
with i.e., 72
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Best Grammar Workbook Ever
commas (cont.)
with interrupters, 71–72
with introductory clauses, 71
with introductory elements, 70–71
phrases and, 70–71
with too, 72–73
common nouns, 13–14
commonly confused words, 113–127
commonly mispronounced words, 141–142
commonly misspelled words, 137–139
company names, commas with, 73
comparative form, 100–101
comparison
superlative form, 100–101
double, 100
problems with, 101
pronoun cases after, 101
with less and least, 100–101
complete subject, 27–28
complex sentence
with adjective clause, 47–48
with adverb clause, 47–48
compound-complex sentence, 48
compound sentences
colons in, 46, 80
commas in, 46, 69–70
semicolons in, 46, 70, 79–80
compound subjects, 27
agreement with antecedent, 97
verb agreement and, 97
compound words
capitalization and, 92
hyphenation and, 82–83
compound objects, 29
compound subjects, 27
compound verbs, 28
concrete nouns, 14
conjunctions
comma with, 24
coordinating, 24, 46, 47
FANBOYS, 24, 46, 47, 109–110
starting sentences with, 109–110
subordinating, 24, 41–42
contractions, when to use, 109
coordinating conjunctions, 24
dashes, em, 8.3
dashes, en, 8.3
dates, commas with, 72
decimals, 78
declarative sentence, 31
demonstrative adjectives, 22
demonstrative pronouns, 15, 52–53
describing words
adjectives, 21–22
adverbs, 22–23
dialogue, quotation marks with, 85
dictionary of confused words, 113–127
direct objects, 21, 28–29
dog breeds, capitalization of, 92
double negatives, 106–107
e-mails, commas in, 73–74
e.g., and commas, 72
earth versus Earth, 91
either, between subjects, agreement and, 97
ellipses, 87
em dash, using, 83
email greeting and closings
capitalization of, 91
commas and, 73
emphasis
italics and, 85
using commas for, 73
en dash, using, 83
essential clauses, 40–41, 55–56
etc., and commas, 72
exclamation points, 78–79
quotation marks and, 86
exclamatory sentence, 31
FANBOYS conjunctions, 24, 46, 47
foreign terms, italics with, 84
fractions
hyphenation of, 105–106
spelling out, 105–106
fragment, sentence, 39, 45–46, 95–96
gerund
definition of, 35
versus participle, 35–36
gerundial phrases, 35
glossary of grammar terms, 149–151
God versus god, 90
grammar problems, 95–110
hardly, in double negatives, 107
helping verbs, 19
his or her
using, 56–57
versus their, 56–57
however, 79
commas with, 74
semicolon with, 74
hyphens
compound words and, 82–83
separating words and, 82–83
using, 82–83
i.e., and commas, 72
imperative sentence, 31
indefinite pronouns, 17, 56–58, 98–99
agreement and, 98–99
plural, 57–58
plural and agreement, 98–99
singular, 56–57
singular and agreement, 98, 99
singular or plural, 56–58, 98–99
indirect objects, 29
infinitives
phrases, 33–34
definition of, 33–34
splitting, 110
intensive pronouns, 16–17, 54
interjections, 25
interrogative pronouns, 15–16, 54–55
interrogative sentence, 31
interrupters, and commas, 71
interrupting words and phrases, agreement and, 96–97
intransitive verbs, 21, 29
introducing lists, colons and, 81
introductory phrases, 27
introductory words, commas with, 70
irregular verbs, 20, 62–64
it, unclear use of, 108
italics
emphasis and, 85
letters and numbers with, 84
representing thoughts, 85
terms and phrases with, 84
titles and, 84–85
words used as themselves, 84
jargon, quotation marks with, 86
less and least, in comparisons, 100–101
letters and numbers
italics in, 84
making plural, 107–108
letters, greeting and closings
capitalization in, 91
commas and, 73
linking verbs, 18–19, 30–31
adjectives and, 64–65
and predicate adjectives, 30–31
and predicate nominatives, 30–31
lists
colons and, 80–81
complete sentences in, 81
horizontal, 81
parallel structure in, 104–105
periods in, 78
vertical, 81
-ly words, 22
measurements, periods in, 78
misplaced modifiers, 35
participles, 101–102
prepositional phrases, 101–102
mispronounced words, 141–142
misspelled words, 137–139
modifiers, misplaced, 35, 101–102
mood, in verbs, 66
moon, capitalization of , 90
myself, using correctly, 53–54
names, possessives of last names, 103
negatives, double, 106–107
neither, between subjects, agreement and, 97
nonessential clauses, 40–41, 55–56
north, south, east, west, capitalization of, 91
nouns
clauses, definition of, 42
definition of, 13
used as adjectives, 22
abstract, 14
Index 2
collective, 14, 99
common, 14
concrete, 14
possessive, 102–103
possessives of nouns ending in s, 103
predicate, 30–31
proper, 14
singular nouns that look plural, 99
types of, 14
numbers
and letters, italics in, 84
commas with, 72
hyphenation with, 105–106
percentages, 106
plurals of, 107
spelling out, 105–106
using, 105–106
using numerals, 105–106
writing fractions, 105–106
numerals
when to use, 105–106
time and, 106
objects, 28–30
compound, 29
direct, 21, 28–29, 51, 52
indirect, 28–29, 51, 52
of preposition, 23, 28–29, 51, 52
or, between subjects, agreement and, 97
Oxford comma, using, 69
p.m., 106
parallel structure, 104–105
in lists, 104–105
parallelism in writing, 104–105
parentheses
brackets and, 81–82
using 82
participial phrases, 34–35
participle
definition of, 34–35
misplaced, 101–102
past, 35
present, 34
versus gerund, 35–36
parts of speech, 13–26, 27
passive voice, 20, 64
past perfect tense , 62, 63
periods
abbreviations and, 77
acronyms and, 77
decimals and, 78
end of sentence, 77
lists and outlines with, 78
measurements and, 78
using with quotation marks, 86
personal pronouns, 15
cases, 51–52
phrases, 33–37
adjectival, 33
adverbial, 33
appositive, 36
commas with, 71
definition of, 33
gerundial, 35–36
infinitive, 33–34
introductory, 27
parallelism in, 104
participial, 34–35
prepositional, 23, 29–30, 33, 34
verb, 28
verbal, 33, 34–35
placement of adverbs, 22–23
plurals
apostrophes in, 103, 107–108
of letters and numbers, 107–108
possessive forms of, 102–103
possessive nouns, 102–103
possessive pronouns, 103
possessives
exceptions to rules, 103
last names and, 103
nouns ending in -ez sound, 103
nouns that end in s and, 103
plural nouns, 103
pronouns, 104
singular nouns, 102–103
practice answers, 153–180
predicate words
adjectives, 30–31
nominatives, 30–31
predicates
complete, 28
simple, 28
prefixes, list of common, 143–145
prepositional phrase, 23, 29–30, 33, 42
misplaced, 102
prepositions, 23
ending sentence with, 23, 110
misplaced phrases, 102
objects of, 23
President, when to capitalize, 91–92
pretest, 5–11
progressive tenses, 19–20, 61–62
pronoun cases, 51–52
and linking verbs, 65
in comparison, 100–101
pronoun types, 15–17, 51–58
demonstrative, 15, 52–53
intensive, 16, 54
indefinite, 17, 56–58, 98–99
interrogative, 15–16, 54–55
reflexive, 16, 53–54
relative, 16, 55–56
pronouns, 14–17, 51–59
agreement with antecedent, 56–58,
97–99
agreement with compound subjects, 97
antecedents, 14–15, 58
cases, comparison and, 100–101
183
definition, 14
demonstrative, 15, 52–53
ending in -self, 53–54
indefinite, and agreement, 98–99
nominative, 51
objective, 51
personal, 15, 51–52
plural indefinite, 57–58
possessive, 51, 104
problems with, 51–58
singular indefinite, 56–57
types, 15–17
unclear antecedents, 58
verb agreement, 56–57
proper adjectives, 22
capitalization of, 89
proper nouns, 13–14, 89
punctuation, 69–87
brackets, 82
colons, 80–81, 86
commas, 69–76, 86
dashes, em, 83
dashes, en, 83
ellipses, 87
exclamation points, 78–79, 86
hyphens, 82–83
italics, 84–85
parentheses, 82
parentheses with brackets, 82
periods, 77–78, 86
question marks, 78, 86
quotation marks, 85–87
semicolon, 79–80, 86
single quotation marks, 86–87
question marks, quotations with, 78, 86
quotation marks
colons with, 86
commas with, 86
defining words and, 86
dialogue and, 85
direct quotes and, 85
exclamation marks with, 86
jargon and, 86
periods with, 86
phrases and, 86
semicolons with, 86
single, 86–87
titles and, 84
use with question marks, 78
using, 85–87
using brackets with, 82
with intentional misspellings, 86
with other punctuation, 86
with slang, 86
quotations, colons to introduce, 80
redundancy in writing, 135–136
reflexive pronouns, 16
using, 53–54
reflexive/intensive pronouns, 16
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Best Grammar Workbook Ever
relative pronouns, 16
restrictive elements, commas with, 71–72
run-on sentences, 45–46,95–96
correcting, 46
salutations
colons in, 80
commas and, 73–74
scarcely, in double negatives, 107
school subjects, capitalization of, 92
-self pronouns, 16, 53–54
semicolons
between sentences, 46
compound sentences and, 70
fixing run-on sentences with, 95
quotation marks and, 86
series and, 79–80
sentences, 27–32
beginning with there, 98
commands, 31
compound-complex, 48
declarative, 31
definition of, 27, 45
exclamatory, 31
fragments, 39, 45–46, 95–96
imperative, 31
interrogative, 31
objects, 28–30
patterns, 49
predicates, 28
run-on, 46, 95
simple, 47
structures, 47–49
subjects, 27–28
types of, 31
variety in, 49
versus clauses, 39
series
comma in, 69
semicolons in, 79–80
simple predicate, 28
simple sentence, 47
single quotation marks, 86–87
singular nouns that look plural, 99
singular they, 110
slang
quotation marks and, 86
when to use, 109
so, starting a sentence with, 109–110
spelling out numbers, 105–106
“state of being” verbs, 18–19
structure of sentences, 47–49
subject-verb agreement, 96–99
subjects
complete, 28
compound, 27
definition of, 27–28
subjunctive mood in verbs, 66
subordinating conjunctions, 24–25
suffixes, list of common, 143–145
sun, capitalization of, 90
tense, verb, 20–21, 61–64
problems with, 62–64
progressive, 61
using past perfect, 62
test answers, 153–180
that
versus those, 52–53
versus which, 41
their versus his or her, 56–57
there
agreement with, 98
beginning a sentence with, 98
therefore, 74
commas with, 74
semicolon with, 74
these versus this, 52–53
they, using as a singular, 110
this
unclear use of, 108
versus these, 52–53
those versus that, 52–53
time
colons with, 80
writing, 106
tips for good writing, 147
titles
capitalization in, 90–91
italics and, 84
italics or quotes with, 84
quotation marks with, 84
to be verb, 18–19, 64–65
too, commas with, 72
transition words, commas with, 70
transitive verbs, 21, 28
types of sentences, 31
unclear antecedents, 58, 108–109
unclear writing, 108–109
unusual word order, and commas, 74
vagueness in writing, 108–109
verbs, 18–21, 61–68
action, 18–19
active voice, 20, 65
and complete predicate, 28
capitalization in titles, 90–91
definition, of 18, 61
forms, irregular, 20, 62–64
helping, 19
intransitive, 21, 29
irregular past participles, 62–64
irregular, 20, 62–64
linking, 18–19, 64–65
linking, adjectives with, 65
linking, and pronoun cases, 65
mood, 66
of being, 64–65
passive voice, 20, 65–66
phrases, 28
problems with, 61–67
progressive tenses, 19–20
pronoun cases after, 65
regular, 20
simple predicates, 28
state of being, 18–19
subjunctive mood in, 66
tenses, 20, 61–64
transitive, 21
using strong, 66–67
voice, 20, 65–66
voice
active, 20, 65
in verbs, 65–66
passive, 20, 65
which
unclear use of, 108
versus that, 40–41
which and that, using, 55–56
who
use of, 51, 55
versus whom, 51, 54
who, which, and that, 41
who’s versus whose, 54–55
whom, use of, 51–52
word roots, list of, 143–145
words
commonly confused, 113–127
commonly mispronounced, 141–142
commonly misspelled, 137–139
writing, redundancy in, 135–136
writing clearly, 108–109, 147
writing tips, 147
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